
Class 71 J7 3 Qf 
Boofc . EI 2y 



DOBELL COLLECTION 



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LEAVES FROM MY JOURNAL 



THE SUMMEE OF 1851. 



LONDON I 
GEORGE WOODFALL AND SON, 

ANGEL COURT, SKINNER STREET. 











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THE FOLLOWING PAGES 

ARE DEDICATED, 

WITHOUT PERMISSION, 

TO 

HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS, 

BY 
THEIR MOST OBEDIENT HUMBLE SERVANT, 

THE AUTHOR. 

January, 1852. 



205449 
,'13 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Page 

The Voyage 1 



CHAPTER II. 
Hamburgh 31 

CHAPTER III. 
The Railway 50 

CHAPTER IV. 
Leipsig 68 

CHAPTER V. 
Zwickau, and the Journey 87 

CHAPTER VI. 
Carlsbad 108 

CHAPTER VII. 
The Return 152 



LIST OF PLATES. 



Portrait op the Author ...... 

Portrait op Toni, Queen op the Sprudel Madchen 
The Elephant Coffee House . . . 
Portrait op the two Ladies of Carlsbad 
Portrait op Babbi 



Frontispiece. 

Page 110 

114 

133 

154 



■I r ^npiPjiAl 





ttdK <J*C«vrn Unborn fUt 



18fc& 







LEAVES FROM MY JOURNAL 

DURING THE SUMMEB OF 1851. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE VOYAGE. 

Worn with fatigues of the Session and the cares of life, and 
annoyed that, owing to dilatory painters and workmen, I could 
not recruit my shattered forces as usual, "by enjoying my own 
flowers and trees, when such things are most enjoyable, a 
thought came into my mind, on Monday, the 14th of July. 
Some twelve years ago, a visit to Carlsbad and Franzensbrunn 
renovated me for a while; — why not take advantage of this 
forced absence from my own paradise, and try the effect again ? 
That which was on Monday only an idea, on Thursday had 
assumed a certain definite aspect ; — on Friday it was a serious 
consideration, — on Saturday a passion, and I desired my servant 
would get me a passport. Then, in the midst of a great 

B 



2 THE VOYAGE. [Chap. I. 

variety of business, came the trouble of thinking about the 
preparatory incidents of a foreign tour. Unquestionably they 
are nothing now to what they were some time ago ; still, when 
one thinks of locomotion in England and on the Continent, 
the difference is considerable. First, there is the passport, — 
We, Henry John, &c, — then there is the visa, — then there are 
the clothes, — then the books, — and lastly comes the question, 
What servant shall be taken ? 

At this period of the year I generally get into a state of 
aversion to anything like extra trouble that amounts to a 
loathing ; and if anything is to be done I like to do it at once, 
to avoid the bore of thinking about it. So I said internally, 
I can, in all probability, take care of myself; I have not quite 
forgotten my German, though it is somewhat rusty, and though 
I never travelled before without a servant, I altogether decline 
having to take care of a native now; and, as to beating the 
preserves in the not-inappropriate neighbourhood of Mr. Wyld's 
great globe, to provide myself with anything that may turn 
up in forty- eight hours, that is not to be thought of. 

Perhaps I shall go, — perhaps I shan't. My own servant 
must be prescient as to the clothes I shall want, I will lay my 
hands upon such books as come under them ; but disturb my 
mind with disquieting thoughts I will not — health can only be 
had with a quiet mind. How can I perform the journey with 



Chap. L] THE VOYAGE. 3 

the least trouble ? Let me see. Packets to Hamburgh, thence 
by railway, &c, to Carlsbad in two days — any other way, 
half a dozen different conveyances, examination of baggage, 
stoppings at night, transference of baggage, &c, &c. The 
former for me. Packet sails on Tuesday evening, name 
" Caledonia." General Steam Navigation Company, sounds 
rather tedious, to be sure — but at this time of year, certain to be 
fine, and even that Company must have put on a little speed in 
these fast days. Besides, Hamburgh is almost the only con- 
siderable town in Europe I have never seen, and it is rising 
from its ashes, and with it Scott's Cathedral Church. All 
these considerations flitted through my mind, and so I decided 
that if I could any how arrange the business I then had in 
hand, I would quietly slip away on the 22nd. Sunday came 
and went. I always try forcibly to exclude the business of 
this life from my thoughts on that day, and from long habit 
I was not without success, even under these trying circum- 
stances. On Monday I was obliged to go into the country 
upon business, and was very nearly having my departure 
postponed, perhaps sine die, for a very little would have 
cooled me down again, — partly because I am of a vacillating 
disposition when I have only myself to please; and in this 
instance I was really anxious not to lose time. 

I have the bump of locality so strongly, that once having 

B 2 



4 THE VOYAGE. [Chap. I. 

visited a place, I feel to know its bearings, and almost intui- 
tively find my way on my return to it again, if within any 
reasonable time. On the day in question I arrived at a certain 
junction on the North-western Kailway, took the offshooting 
train, was later than I had hoped, and did not get back to the 
junction till the last train to London, the Express, was due; 
it was after nine, and dark, and no one was about except the 
station-master and a passenger or two, waiting, as I supposed, 
like myself, to go to London, upon the platform, where we had 
descended. We had not been there five minutes before a train 
arrived upon the opposite rails ; the station-master crossed 
with his lanthorn, a passenger and a stoker remaining on the 
same side as myself. I continued walking up and down a few 
minutes, partly wondering why the train did not proceed at 
once, and partly ruminating in my own mind what the train 
could be, having a pretty accurate knowledge of the train- 
times on this railway ; I was about to communicate my ideas 
to the solitary passenger, but he turned on his heel just as I 
approached him, whistling an air, and apparently not affecting 
conversation. Fortunately, at that moment a black stoker 
emerged from under the wheels of the siding-train, and, upon 
my saying, " That's the down mail-train, I suppose," he replied, 
" No ; it's the up-express." So certain was I that I could not 
have mistaken the points of the compass, that I was just 



Chap. I.] THE VOYAGE. 5 

going to dispute his information, when I saw my error, — the bell 
sounded, three bounds took me across the rails, though I am 
rather past the bounding age, and another hop and step got 
me into an empty carriage, to meditate upon the danger of 
being too wise in one's own conceit ; I found afterwards that 
I should infallibly have been left to pass the night as best 
I could at a small station, had there not been something 
amiss with the station pump, which caused the delay I have 
described. 

Tuesday dawned a charming day. On a fine day the idea 
of locomotion is always agreeable; I felt I was off, favente 
n limine 9 and at four o'clock, letters being answered, and 
excuses sent to future engagements, I proceeded to the office, 
to make inquiry what packet was to sail, and if a place was to 
be had. I accordingly learned that the " Caledonia" was to 
sail at half-past eight from St. Katherine's Docks, and a berth 
was at my disposal, and, to my query about arriving in 
Hamburg, was informed that I should certainly be there on 
Friday morning. This gave me a twinge, knowing the dilatory 
habits of the General Steam Navigation Company, and their 
old tubs, when there is no opposition. I had, moreover, fully 
reckoned . upon being at my journey's end on Thursday night, 
otherwise I should have taken the railway route. Accordingly, 
I made an exclamation, which induced the clerk, who was 



THE VOYAGE. [Chap. I. 

replacing the pen behind his ear, after inscribing the amount 
of my deposit-money upon my credentials, to re-assure me, 
that, in all probability , it would be the evening of the second 
day. The weather being serene, and the nights short, I silenced 
all misgivings, and built again upon an unstable foundation. 

Just as I was about to take a tender leave, and tear myself 
from the bosom of my family, my glance fell upon the baro- 
meter, and I thought it had fallen; but, my mind at that 
moment being bent upon keeping everything disagreeable 
out of itself, I resolutely turned my eyes away from it, for 
fear of seeing that such was really the case. On my way, 
however, to the Docks, some awkward-looking clouds began to 
sail about ; and when, about eight o'clock, I got alongside my 
floating inn, there was no question as to the fact, that a north- 
easterly wind was blowing, — how fresh, it was not possible 
then to ascertain ; but it made one feel chilly, and it repented 
me, for the first time, that I had taken the step. This un- 
pleasant feeling was deepened when I came to reconnoitre the 
vessel itself. She was painted entirely black, and had an 
antiquated, rusty, and coffin-like appearance. She sat heavily 
upon the water. Had she belonged to any other Company than 
that which has earned so commendable a reputation for the 
care which it bestows upon the sea-worthiness of its vessels, 

1 should have felt an inclination even stronger than that which 



Chap. I.] THE VOYAGE. 7 

seized me at that moment, to jump into the boat after my 
servant, who was departing; and, as the last link between my- 
self and home, I felt quite sentimental towards one of the 
most unsentimental-looking of human beings, whilst following 
him with my eyes, as he vanished in the waterman's wherry 
under the stern of some enormous vessel lying nearer the shore. 
So here I am setting out on an excursion, fleeing care, and 
searching after better health, in the most melancholy mood. 
The sky black, — the steamer the same, — the crew ditto, — my 
fellow voyagers not much otherwise — a great noise and confu- 
sion, taking in the last portion of a cargo of odoriferous skins 
from a lighter — and passengers jostling each other in the vain 
hopes of seeing into what part of the hold their luggage was 
vanishing. I heard nothing but German spoken ; so much so, 
that at first I was persuaded that I was the only English pas- 
senger on board. Need I add, that the great majority were en- 
gaged in the two national occupations — smoking and the other 
thing; all which offended my aristocratic nerves extremely, and 
I bemoaned my rashness in having so precipitately adopted this 
mode of conveyance. I fancied myself impelled by fate, — 
everything looked sinister, — I felt sure a tempest would 
arise (the weather had latterly been strangely changeable 
and stormy), and then I thought of the announcement in the 
newspapers : " Missing steamer. — Stern of a boat picked up 



8 THE VOYAGE. [Chap. I. 

somewhere near Heligoland, — think they can decipher { Cale- 
donia,' of London." My only comfort was, that I had not 
forgotten a certain india-rubher life-preserver, which I bought 
a few years ago for another voyage, which is warranted to float 
its wearer over the seas for an indefinite length of time, pro- 
vided he don't forget where it is when the crisis arrives, or to 
blow it out before he puts it on, and carries with him a 
sufficient stock of provisions for the occasion. 

After looking about upon the poop in a vague way, with 
something of the feelings I imagine to belong to a condemned 
criminal, hoping that some less dismal ideas would succeed, I 
sat down on a dirty beech, and fell into a reverie. Presently 
the mail-bags were put on board, at a quarter to nine we 
got under weigh, and our steamer floated forward on the top 
of the ebbing tide through that apparently hopeless labyrinth 
of craft which continually overshadow this mighty highway of 
commerce. Hard a- starboard — hard a-port — at short intervals 
in the increasing darkness, indicated the obstacles to our free 
egress to the ocean. I had a few minutes' conversation with 
the only creature — I may say the only object — I had yet seen 
on board that had not a repulsive aspect, a delicate-looking 
English girl, who spoke with a slightly foreign accent, and 
who, having been sent for medical advice to England, was now 
returning with her mother to Hamburgh. She had made the 



Chap. I.] THE VOYAGE. 9 

passage, she said, more than once, and gave me a lively picture 
of its uncertainties. 

About ten o'clock, I took a glance at the cabin called saloon, 
on the main deck under the poop. There was laid out the usual 
British seagoing fare — a very dry-looking, crumbling roast fowl, 
a fierce ham, and a lump of very fiery-looking meat with black 
edges, which at first sight puzzled me, though I can boast 
of some experience in these mysteries; I afterwards dis- 
covered it was not so bad as it looked, being a piece of Ham- 
burgh smoked beef, — not a bad thing in the evil hour. But I 
had a presaga mali. Though not unfrequently a sufferer to 
some extent from nausea at sea, I am by no means addicted, 
in ordinary times, to sea- sickness, aDd in the roughest weather 
have been able to hold my own; but this time I came on 
board with nerves predisposed to insubordination, and the 
fumes of mud and bilge-water that continually infest, for they 
don't rise, but hover over the docks and river, did for me, 
what the nurses say an early contradiction will do for a cross 
child — set me all at wrong for the day. 

In this mood, I made a desperate dive down to what is 
denominated the gentlemen's sleeping cabin, to see what the 
chances were of my being able to attempt berth, No. 44. No 
one could say that it was not cold on deck, for we were steam- 
ing against a north-east wind, yet in the saloon it was warm, 



10 THE VOYAGE. [Chap. I. 

and below hot and close; for, except what chose to pass 
down the staircase, no air could reach it; the little three-inch 
side-lights could only be open in harbour, where the water 
is still, being little above the water-line. A half-lit lamp 
gave a peculiarly dungeon-like appearance to this den: at 
first I could distinguish nothing; when I got a little more 
accustomed to the twilight, I perceived I was about to tumble 
over a form sitting close to a berth, and a flicker of a candle 
for a moment illumined the handsome, but faded, features of a 
foreigner, who looked ill, and was evidently preparing to go to 
bed, to prevent matters becoming worse. One is accustomed 
to see sickly faces on board packets ; but there was a deep 
melancholy in the expression of this man's face, and a strange 
outlandish look that returned to my thoughts more than once 
during the voyage, and was explained before we parted; but 
I never before felt so uncomfortably the truth of the pro- 
verb — if I may make use of it in horse-marine-ish way — " Post 
equitem sedit atra cura." 

With the assistance of the steward, who now did light two 
swinging lamps (afterwards I devoutly wished they had re- 
mained, like our beards on the voyage, for ever untrimmed), 
I found berth 44, an upper shelf in this family vault, into 
which, with misgivings of every description, almost all of 
which proved in the sequel to be well-founded, T scrambled. 



Chap. I.] THE VOYAGE. 11 

More figures soon descended to wander about the shades below, 
and find their retreats in different states of dishabille ; but I 
don't think anybody uttered to anybody, and at times a sort of 
half dream came over me that I was on board some vessel 
carrying out the dead of the great metropolis to the cemetery 
at Erith. What is the mental relation between asleep and 
awake? Why is it that noise should at times act as a 
soporific to hold one's senses fast ? So it is, however ; the 
engine and paddle-wheels made no little piece of work in 
the boat, and in the water, and yet I was asleep, and should, 
perhaps, have been so longer, if we had not brought up at 
Gravesend for some purpose or other, which woke me. I 
indulged in a speculation. What could it be for ? My dis- 
agreeable imagination immediately suggested a flaw in the 
piston, or a crack in the boiler, that would either compel our 
return, or be patched up for explosion in a gale of wind in the 
North Sea. Again sleep came to my assistance, but it was 
only a dull sensation of prolonged discomfort; and when I 
again came to my senses, it was to find that we were rolling 
about on the ocean with a head- wind and some sea. Smells of 
a most indescribable nature arise at all times in all steam- 
packets, from all parts ; but I can with truth aver, that in all 
my experience, so thick, vaporous, and tangible an odour — so 
sickening as that which — I won't say circulated, but — heavily 



12 THE VOYAGE. [Chap. I. 

pervaded the gentleman's sleeping cabin — I did not until now 
conceive capable of evolution. I am convinced Liebig could 
neither have composed nor analyzed it, and nothing but Satan's 
alembic, the steam-packet laboratory, could have compounded it. 
Ladies and gentlemen — not you who sit at home at ease, 
but you who have braved the sleeping apartments in these 
conveyances — figure to yourselves, when your stomachs are 
sufficiently strong to endure the phantom, in addition to the 
usual emanations from bilge- water, fusty moreen, and ill- ven- 
tilated, unwashed humanity — the fumes of two expiring lamps. 
The barbarous steward, who, by the by, took care to sleep in 
the saloon, had trimmed the two lights with very thick cottons, 
and with just enough of rancid oil to allow light for the 
operation of getting into bed, so, after a while, the fuel being 
expended, they went out one after the other, leaving their 
large wicks to smoke till they could smoke no more ; and this 
was by no means a short affair, for, after I was awake, at each 
swing of the lamp the foetid air reanimated the dying embers, 
which became glaring red, and sent forth a fresh puff of 
odorous incense to thicken the plot. There was nothing left 
but to escape for one's life, and only deeply regretting that I 
had undressed so much, I made a desperate effort, regained 
my vestments, and rushed up stairs to — as I hoped — inhale 
the breeze, and save myself from the crisis now evidently 



Chap. I.] THE VOYAGE. 13 

approaching; in this, however, I was disappointed; it was six 
o'clock and quite light, but the heaven was overcast — it was 
pouring with rain. 

The steward, with whom I now began politely to scrape 
acquaintance, certain I should shortly be entirely in his power, 
informed me the sailors thought it would be dirty weather. 

Yesterday at this time I was in a clean bed, a perfectly 
well-ventilated room, not otherwise than well, only mastered 
by the notion that I must go somewhere else in order to make 
myself better ; now I appeared to be commencing a stormy 
voyage of indefinite duration, and who could be the better for 
that ? I soon learned, by a few judicious questions (which fate 
seemed to force from my lips), that the " Caledonia" was the 
oldest vessel in the service — had insufficient power to deal with 
contrary winds — and afterwards I overheard the captain, who 
I think was a bit of a wag, informing a gentleman, who made 
an inquiry, in a somewhat maudlin tone, as to the probable 
length of the voyage, that it might take a week. I have 
bad luck in public conveyances generally: the boat that goes 
on my day is sure to be the slowest, craziest, and least 
cleanly; and if there is a kicking horse, it is sure to find its 
way into my conveyance. I have twice been dismissed from 
Hansoms by the too active heels of the quadruped, which, I 
believe, is a rare occurrence, considering they have generally 



1 i THE VOYAGE. [Chap. I. 

enough exercise without this peculiar one ; — to be sure it was 
before the Great Exhibition had made such an accident impos- 
sible. I cannot imagine what could have driven me to ask 
for the information I obtained about the ship, because my 
good genius warned me that it was preferable to remain as 
long as might be in blissful ignorance; however, having 
acquired it, I betook myself to a little mental arithmetic after 
the following fashion : if the good ship the " Caledonia," 
against a head-wind, goes five knots in one hour, how long 
will she be going 500 ? After several trials, in some of which 
I made it out to be a year, I gave up the hopeless attempt, 
my head getting hot and giddy, my extremities cold. My 
gradually-waning attempts at exertion to hold out against 
the enemy were terminated by the arrival of breakfast, — not 
that I saw the table or the people, for I was on a sofa in 
another corner of the cabin, — but the side or service table 
was close to me, and my eyes would obstinately fix them- 
selves upon the awful compounds that stopped there on their 
way to the other table ; also upon the hands of the steward, 
waiter, and cabin-boy, and the various uses to which they put 
the napkins, which, as a badge of office, they held in their 
hands. 

For cases like mine the only thing to do is, to force one- 
self to eat, especially breakfast; and it is singular that 



Chap. L] THE VOYAGE. 15 

on former occasions, when I have done so, I actually got 
a sort of unnatural appetite for the horrors in the shape of 
fried ham and eggs, very fat pork, and red herrings — things 
which are set before one on these occasions — some of which 
I could not eat on shore, under any circumstances whatever 
at that hour, and presented as I have already described, not at 
all. This time, however, when I embarked, I was hardly fit to 
encounter difficulties — had little appetite, and the night in the 
cabin reduced my forces to below zero. Two or three times I 
made an internal effort to cross the cabin to breakfast, but it 
did not reach that part of my sensorium in which the will is 
situated. I made one galvanic attempt to rouse myself, and 
went out into the rain, but it was the last, and ineffectual. I 
paid tribute to the ocean, and returned to sink upon my horse- 
hair couch, staring upon vacancy. 

Day wore on : there were periods when the rain desisted, 
and I went out; a yellow unwashed Deutscher asked me 
politely, in German, if I was unwell. I confessed the fact, 
felt painfully conscious of the appearance I must at that 
time have presented, and angry with him for reminding 
me of myself. This emotion was increased by his apolo- 
gizing for the intrusion, and begging to know my honoured 
name, as he was sure he had had the pleasure of meet- 
ing me somewhere. What my reply conveyed to his ears 



16 THE VOYAGE. [Chap. I. 

I don't quite know, but certainly the sound that came forth did 
not seem at all familiar to myself; at all events it appeared 
new to him, as without further remark he continued his cigar 
and promenade. Fortunately for me, in a lucid interval, I 
bethought me of the doctrine of Similia similibus curantur. 
I had got a box of globules, but it was in my portmanteau 
somewhere in the hold, and the idea of taking any trouble was 
revolting. It struck me, however, I could get a glass of hot 
water, which, as it makes people sick who are well, may cure 
them when they are ill, and I have heard of its having been 
successfully applied. So I demanded the potion, and I heard the 
captain say, " Why that ere gem man must want to make bad 
wus;" when it was brought, it was so unlike ordinary hot water 
— so highly flavoured and tinged — that the first gulp proved 
captain knew at least what was likely to be the effect of his 
own hot water, and I retreated to the cabin in hopeless misery. 
Shortly, however, something, I don't know what, brought back 
a momentary courage, and I implored Mr. Steward to try a 
dive after my portmanteau. He was an off- hand, active, good- 
humoured fellow, with a cynical touch about him, and he 
acquiesced, without reply, in my wishes; dived down and fished 
up the article in question, uncorded, unbuckled, and opened 
it without half the things falling out — a decided talent. The 
little green box came forth, and I swallowed 2/6 ipec, which 



Chap. I.] THE VOYAGE. 17 

I repeated at intervals. It did not cure me entirely, but 
I can hardly describe the relief it gave me, and had I only 
compelled myself to eat, I probably should have suffered no 
more. 

The wind rather increased towards evening, and closed in 
with rain and lightning in all directions. About midnight, 
or soon after, it began to rain in good earnest, and 
came down in torrents, more or less, for several hours; 
this however changed the wind, and the following morn- 
ing, when I went on deck very miserable, I had the con- 
solation of seeing all sail set, a south-west wind, the old tub 
going ten and a-half instead of five, and the Captain saying 
we might perhaps be in Hamburgh early on Friday morning if 
things so continued. I must here do the old ship justice to 
say, that she had at least the merit — not unfrequently accom- 
panying slow craft — of being extremely easy against a head 
sea: she hardly gave us one of those bumps that wring the 
souls of the seasick. The other wretches and myself — for there 
were others similarly situated — began to look a little less woe- 
begone; the weather cleared by degrees, and as our prospects 
brightened, I was able, though in fear and trembling, to swallow 
something, and after that the evil ceased. 

The low coast of North Holland was unusually visible, and 
land in sight is always a comfort to exhausted bodies uncon- 

c 



18 THE VOYAGE. [Chap. I. 

scions of a lee shore. We could see the Church of Norderney, 
an island at the mouth of the Weser, resorted to for sea- 
bathing, and at five, that valuable British colony, the island 
of Heligoland, was in sight, formed of very different stuff from 
its namesake on the opposite coast, the Holy Isle, which is 
proof against the fiercest storms. This, however, though it 
makes a considerable figure, being some 250 feet above the 
level of the sea, and most useful to mariners, is composed of 
a red sandstone, so soft, and diminishes so unmistakably year 
by year, that before very long it will be amongst the things 
that have been. At present there is sufficient accommodation 
upon it to render it a favourite watering-place of the Ham- 
burghers, and to entitle it to a British resident. 

The little islands in this part of the world are inhabited 
by a sort of amphibious population, as the showman declares 
" What can't live on the land, and dies in the waters ;" expert 
fishermen, sailors, and dyke-makers, and endued beyond mea- 
sure with those two invaluable qualities which, when united, 
are, it is said, capable of accomplishing all things — patience 
and perseverance. 

The sight of Heligoland made me begin to surmise that the 
ill-favoured vessel with its sick freight would, perhaps, after all, 
reach land at some time or other, without a catastrophe; and 
accordingly the lank and yellow visages set about composing 



Chap. I.] THE VOYAGE. 19 

themselves an alteration, which permitted a renewed circulation of 
venous blood. I began to ask questions seriously of the Captain, 
quite different from those vacant mechanical interrogatories which 
are put to the steward and stewardess by helpless prostrate forms, 
as to where the ship is, and when she will get in ; he said he 
thought we might possibly arrive very early in the morning, but 
if the present tide did not float us over the bar some ten miles 
from Hamburgh, we should have to wait six or seven hours for 
the return thereof. The shores on each side of the mouth 
of the Elbe are extremely low, often covered with fog, and 
therefore difficult to make. There is a light ship, and also a 
stationary pilot's ship near it. The navigation is very intricate, 
on account of shoals ; so much so, that the Captain said, 
though he had known it for years, he thought that if the buoys 
were removed, no hostile fleet could get up the river in safety. 
We got our pilot from the ship — a very timid old boy indeed, 
for, notwithstanding it was anything but dark, he begged 
we might anchor at once; this our skipper refused to do 
until we got beyond Cuxhaven, when, finding that all pos- 
sibility of passing the bar before the next tide was at an 
end, he brought us up till good light in the morning. 
Before five o'clock we were again under weigh, with a second 
pilot, a tall, bold-looking, North Sea mariner. A coldish 
drizzle early did not feel consolatory in July; however, by 

c 2 



20 THE VOYAGE. [Chap. I. 

degrees the weather improved, and it was fine and warm by 
eleven o'clock, when we dropped our anchor at Hamburgh. 

This morning, as is usual on such occasions, all being 
smooth, the owls and bats came out of their hiding-places, and 
one is frequently at a loss to make out where the numbers have 
been stowed away, that then make their appearance in various 
fantastic guises. The fact is, sea-sickness is a disorder which 
at once annihilates brotherly love, sympathy, or compassion; 
no one ever looks at any one during the horrors but the 
steward or stewardess; their faces become quite familiar, 
and it is surprising how long one recollects them, after every- 
thing else belonging to the voyage has faded away. 

There are generally some two or three women out of the 
mass who have kindly paid a little attention to personal 
appearance, the more meritorious when one thinks of the 
resources of the ladies' cabin, for which the other passengers 
are, or ought to feel, grateful, as the sight is highly refreshing. 
The male portion usually present an appearance which, were it 
not for the joyful expectation of a speedy and happy release, 
would certainly bring back the desagremens of the middle 
passage. Some few times in one's life one meets with a man 
or woman — but the latter more frequently — whose natural tidy- 
ness and fraicheur are proof even to this the sorest trial in 
life for such qualities; whose gown still appears unruffled, hair 



Chap. L] THE VOYAGE. 2 1 

still smooth, and complexion still blooming, and whom, to look 
upon at such moments, is worth a king's ransom. This was 
not one of those occasions; but the little fragile invalid whom I 
mentioned before, had some pretension to an unobstrusive place 
on the fair side of the picture I have just drawn, and accordingly 
I was attracted towards her, and we commenced the usual sort of 
talk. She very willingly told me her story. Her father, who 
from her description has one of those restless dispositions 
which ought to belong only to seagoing men, had, it appeared, 
quitted England some time ago, and after trying various parts 
of the Continent — and he could not yet speak a word of any 
language save the vernacular — at last settled, as they supposed, 
in Hamburgh. After five years, however, that not suiting, he 
made a purchase of property in one of the new American 
back States adjoining Wisconsin and Iowa; and to this place the 
family were actually going to sail, not a week after the date of 
this conversation, by one of our old American liners, " The 
Chickesaw Skwampash," or some such name, which we saw 
in the river on our arrival. She said she believed there was a 
town somewhere within fifty miles of this property, where they 
might pass the first winter whilst their wooden house was 
building, which she deemed to be a comfort. Women, I think, 
not unfrequently, do make up their minds to such things in a 
surprising manner ; and certainly a delicate girl of eighteen or 



22 THE VOYAGE. [Chap. I. 

twenty, speaking French and German, — an invalid, accus- 
tomed to European luxuries, had something to lose by such an 
exchange — in short, anything looking less like a backwoods- 
man I never saw, yet her whole tone was one of perfect com- 
posure. She described to me with great clearness the route 
they were to take on their arrival at New York, and the various 
conveyances, steamer, railroad, lake boat, and waggon, which 
were to be the means of transporting themselves and their 
effects to the American Arcadia. It is to be hoped this will, 
at least, have the effect of occupying the surplus of paternal 
energy for the rest of his life, and prevent further wander- 
ings. 

As we approached Hamburgh we were obliged to slacken our 
speed very much on account of the bar, some ten or twelve miles 
distant from the city, which some time ago was an effectual 
barrier to the passage of large vessels, but at length the good 
bourgeois bethought themselves of dredging, and now, when 
the tide is in, ships of considerable tonnage can go up to the 
town, which is as nearly as possible the same distance from the 
mouth of the Elbe, as London is from that of the Thames. 
The rain ceased before we reached the shoal, and the river 
assumed a business-like appearance ; craft of various colours, 
shapes, and dimensions, plying in every direction; and steamers 
from the different towns and villages upon the banks carrying 



Chap. I.] THE VOYAGE. 23 

their living freights to the great mart of North Germany. On 
the right the distant Hartz mountains, so famous in legendary 
lore, give a little variety to the outline as you look over the 
great flat alluvial expanse which separates them from the sea. 
On the left the gently- swelling lands of Holstein, and which 
rise somewhat precipitously, though to no great height, from 
the river, give endless agreeable sites, which the worthy people 
of Hamburgh have not been slow to improve. Many a terrace 
and villa adorn these south-turned slopes, and the sun now 
shining upon them gave them quite an Italian appearance. 

The rapid change from a cold, drizzling, sickness-bringing, 
dirt- engendering, tottering sea-voyage, to the composed deck of 
a vessel smoothly gliding upon the broad expanse of a mag- 
nificent river, fringed with bright abodes and hanging gardens, 
all sparkling in the sun, are worth the experience, though the 
introduction to the Elysian Fields is somewhat rude : — 



" Vestibulum ante ipsum priraisque in faucibus orci ; 
Luctus et utricis habitant cubilia curae." 



And thus somehow an Englishman, however patriotic and 
serious he may be — and long may such be his character — is com- 
pelled for. the moment to surrender himself to the delicious 
sensations of having got fairly out of the reach of the penny 
post, the exigencies of aspiring tide-waiters and letter-carriers, 



24 THE VOYAGE. [Chap. I. 

and other cares of this life. Such were the sensations that I 
owned, I have no doubt, upon this occasion. The dangers 
were passed, the ugly old ship had made her way safe across 
the stormy main, the rain was gone, the sun was out, the trim 
Dutch costumes enlivened the great boats loaded with the 
finest vegetables and fruit, which were at all points crossing 
the river, and unloading at Blancknesee, Altona, and Ham- 
burgh. 

The passengers were soon employed in collecting together 
their baggage, and stowing it away as nearly as possible to 
the place where they supposed the exit would be. 

It was now nearly eleven o'clock, the voyage had endured 
sixty-two hours, and one must admit, that bidding adieu 
to the packet was at the moment a most pleasurable thought ; 
at the same time one should have imagined that the ex- 
citement would not have been at such a pitch, as not to 
have allowed the passengers to go down the side ladder quietly 
one at a time with their effects. Such, however, was no more 
the case now than upon other similar occasions ; the most 
imminent risks of immersion were courted for the sake of 
attempting to get to shore half a minute sooner, the whole 
result being general delay and confusion — Herr Umkravt's 
baggage having got by mistake into Fraulein Bumpstein's barge, 
&c, &c. I felt the same desire to collect my packages, and rush 



Chap. L] THE VOYAGE. 25 

out of the steamer, as did the others, but my friend, the Steward 
with the yellow hair, told me there was no use being in a hurry, 
so I forced myself to be quiet, and in feigned calmness awaited 
the operations of my companions. When, however, I did at 
length proceed to the cabin to perform my duties, I nearly 
started back at the apparition which presented itself. 

I have already mentioned, that on going down below, 
the first night, when I became sensible that there were 
others besides myself in the sleeping cabin, I perceived a man 
who appeared already somewhat sick, and about to go to 
bed; I had a sort of vague impression that this individual 
had not appeared at the general jubilee this morning, but 
probably should not have given him another thought, had I not 
entered the cabin as I am now relating. I there saw before me 
a man whose black curling moustachios and swarthy com- 
plexion betrayed the influence of a tropical clime, and gave 
him the air of one of the conquerors of Mexico. He was 
stretched upon a couch, sustaining himself with difficulty in a 
semi-recumbent position ; he seemed to be at the point 
of death, and his haggard, though very handsome features, 
had apparently settled themselves into a calm and certain 
anticipation of what was to come. In answer to my question, 
the Steward informed me that he had been to California, was 
very ill, and was come to Hamburgh. (This latter fact was in- 



26 THE VOYAGE. [Chap. I. 

disputable.) He could not understand his language, but 
believed somebody was coming on board to fetch him. I felt 
a strange desire to know something more of this singular look- 
ing being ; but how was I to get information ? certainly not 
by an attack on the dying man himself — where else ? That 
was followed by an idea that I ought to offer some assist- 
ance ; then came an announcement that the boats were along- 
side (for large vessels cannot get to the quay) — then the 
luggage was moved out with magnetic attraction, and then 
somehow, with the fading features of my poor fellow passenger 
strongly impressed upon me, I found myself — unconscious how 
I arrived there — seated in a boat with my effects by the side of 
another man. 

The Portuguese, they say, are so far before the rest of man- 
kind that they have a way of doing things peculiarly their 
own, different from all other nations, and of course the best. 
Most watermen row with their faces towards their passengers, 
but the men of the Tagus honour them by presenting their 
backs to their fares. It seems that this custom has been 
humbly borrowed by those of the Elbe ; for, upon looking up 
from the reverie into which the last scene of the ship had 
plunged me, a singular appearance presented itself. All I could 
perceive was a brown opaque disk, which, upon more mature ex- 
amination, I ascertained to be the upper portion of an enormous 



Chap. I.] THE VOYAGE. 27 

and remarkably well-filled pair of , the owner of them, the 

boatman, being so completely bent forwards, that no other por- 
tion of his sturdy person was visible to the sitters. We glided 
swiftly, and as it appeared almost by magic, under stems and 
sterns, and over hawsers, through a maze of small craft, so 
close, that a collision seemed constantly imminent, yet always 
avoided, and, in much less time than is required to narrate the 
circumstances, we were at the landing-place; then our water- 
man stood up and displayed a development of the Dutch 
order, which for strength could hardly be surpassed ; and for 
address in conducting his nice boat with a pair of sculls 
through an intricate passage, he must be at the head of his 
profession. It certainly might occur to one, that a waterman 
with his back turned to his passengers has a better chance 
of arriving safely at his destination, than our friends on 
the Thames, who row one way and look the other. This 
man must, I think, be a great man, for he was actually 
contented with his fare, which was so much per passenger and 
so much per packet, altogether amounting to an insignificant 
sum. I jumped on shore, my packages were all there, and I told 
the porter to put them into one of the many open caleches which 
were on the quay waiting to be hired. I hesitated a moment 
where I should order him to drive, whether to the new Hotel de 
l'Europe, which some of my German fellow passengers had re- 



28 THE VOYAGE. [Chap. I. 

commended, or to Streit's Hotel, which is very well spoken of 
in an edition of Murray's Hand Book, published before the 
former was erected. I felt that I was alone, and though I could, 
with a little fresh practice, find enough German words for the 
wants of a traveller, yet Streit being half English turned the 
scale, and to Streit's accordingly I bade my conductor drive. 
The fiacres here, which are remarkably good and plentiful, have 
the same name as the Russian carriages, and are called 
Droskies ; how they came by the name I don't know, for it is 
not a German word, but it prevails very extensively in North 
Germany — even, I think, as far as Leipsig. We trotted away, 
and, soon leaving the quays and the shipping, plunged into the 
oldest and most picturesque part of the town, where I was not 
sorry to be protected from the sun by the towering and fanci- 
fully-decorated gables which lined the narrow streets. Brussels, 
Ghent, Antwerp, and Amsterdam, were in turns brought to my 
recollection as I passed by antique gateways and balustraded 
canals. After a while I came to wider streets, handsomer 
doubtless, and more commodious, but infinitely less attractive ; 
aud eventually, after driving perhaps a mile and a half, I 
emerged upon the Jungferstieg, a great square of water 
suiTounded by stone quays and stately edifices, about four times 
the size of Lincoln's Inn Fields. A portion of one corner, near 
the Exchange, has not yet been completed since the fire, but 



Chap. I.] THE VOYAGE. 29 

is in the process of construction, and when that is done, and 
the trees which line the walks which encompass this magnificent 
reservoir become a little larger, it will be as splendid an 
appendage to a town as can possibly be conceived. The 
situation is charming as an urban residence, because the north- 
east side of the square is not built upon at all, and the nature 
of the ground beyond makes it little likely that any town can 
grow up in that direction, so that a good ventilation is secured ; 
in fact, there is a great extent of garden and pleasure ground 
already made in that direction on the sides of a kind of lake, 
caused by the damming up of the Alster; this operation, 
effected by floodgates, is extremely valuable, not only for the 
beauty of this unique square, but also for various sanitary 
purposes. 

But, to return to the Jungferstieg itself. I was rapidly pere- 
grinating towards Streit's, and there alighted. Having just 
read in the Hand Book what was the usual fare, I tendered 
it to the driver, but, to my surprise and indignation, he rejected 
it altogether, and insisted upon having double. I was about 
to break ground in German, by declaring that nothing should 
induce me to submit to so intolerable an imposition, when the 
hotel porter, dressed in a superb uniform, seeing what was 
going on, stepped up and politely informed me, that the re- 
muneration I had offered was for a single-horse drosky, and 



30 THE VOYAGE. [Chap. I. 

that I had inadvertently treated myself to a pair of horses ; so 
owing to him I lost the opportunity of exercising my argu- 
mentative powers in German, my temper was spared, and I 
proceeded to an apartment, the only one out of a prodigious 
numher they had unoccupied. 

I soon received the delightful intelligence that a bath was 
close at hand, — and let him who knows not that luxury 
after a couple of days and nights on hoard a passenger 
steamer, immediately take his place for the purpose of ex- 
periencing it; the return to convalescence after severe ill- 
ness is hardly a greater, though a somewhat more enduring, 
luxury ; both, however, have, in one respect, the same effect 
upon the spirits, and I returned to my chamber unquestionably 
a cleaner and a happier, even if not a better, man, for every evil 
and malicious thought passed out of my mind ; I forgave both 
the drosky driver and myself, and was generally inclined to 
take a roseate view of Hamburgh and its inhabitants. 



Chap. II.] HAMBURGH. 31 



CHAPTEK II. 

HAMBURGH. 

The necessary letters having been duly written and de- 
spatched, I was able somewhat more at leisure to survey the 
singular trisided square in which I was lodged. I have said 
the buildings were in keeping with the place, so they struck me 
as I looked around; but accustomed as I am to see large 
spaces in German towns occupied by hotels, I was hardly pre- 
pared to see them in such force, and upon such a scale as they 
here presented themselves; they surpass even Covent Garden 
Market, in their relative proportion to other houses, and 
nearly as much in point of scale as this great square does that 
little convenient and interesting mart. At first sight every 
house appeared to be an hotel, and one of the newest, the Hotel de 
l'Europe, has (I presume there is no window duty, but if there is) 
just one hundred taxable windows to this front ; what may be the 
dimensions of the Astor, and other hotels in America I never 
heard, nor do I remember to have seen any representation of 



32 HAMBURGH. [Chap. II. 

those far-famed places of reception ; but I imagine this to be 
the largest hotel in Europe, and I am told that its recommenda- 
tions are by no means confined to a magnificent exterior. On 
the same side, but some way beyond it, are some imposing- 
looking private houses, with charming gardens coming down to 
the promenade, betraying every symptom of wealth and luxury. 
In driving about the suburbs of London, which grow visibly 
as one passes, and become almost metamorphosed from year to 
year, one keeps intuitively asking oneself, if not exclaiming to 
one's companion, who can occupy all these houses ? and yet 
the sight of a bill is rare. On this occasion, I repeated to 
myself an inquiry I have often before made, forced upon me 
especially at this moment, when I had difficulty in procuring a 
lodging in one house, and had reason to believe that the 
others were equally full, what is it in Germany that makes 
such prodigious hotel accommodation necessary ? I asked, 
whether any event caused an unusual influx of visitors at 
this particular moment? but received the usual answer, no, 
but that the place was almost always filled, especially in 
summer. I am therefore unable to give myself a satisfactory 
reply. It is true that a great many Germans of a par- 
ticular class never dine at home, partly because it saves a 
servant, and partly because the table d'hote, like our clubs in 
London, by means of combination, affords every gastronomic 



Chap. II.] HAMBURGH. 33 

luxury at a moderate cost*. That will explain the dimen- 
sions of the Speise Saal, with its never-failing gallery for 
the orchestra; but the occupants of the bed-rooms are yet to 
be accounted for : all I can say from my own observation 
is, that, besides travellers for pleasure, there are generally 
many officers, but what particular class — learned, literary, or 
money-making — it is that predominates, or why it is so loco- 
motive, I am not at present in condition to inform myself, any 
more than I am who the imaginary beings are that flow into the 
new houses in our suburbs as soon as they are constructed, or 
whether they were houseless before, living, as my friend 
Shaftesbury would conclude, under a dry arch. 

Having philosophized a little, and indulged myself with a 
plan of the town, I hired a laquais- de-place, and this time a 
one-horse drosky, and bid him drive slowly about in the fine 



* In a domestic point of view the German institution has this advantage over the 
English — that the whole family, husband, wife, and children, may together partake 
of the luxury, whereas in England, I have heard it said, that the gentleman fares 
sumptuously every day, while the lady and the rest of the family are left to do the 
best they can, with the maid-of-all-work, in their two- windowed house or their lodg- 
ing, as the case may be. There is something quite refreshing in the quiet and simple 
air of a German officer and his wife, and, perhaps, a half-grown up son or daughter 
passing into the Speise Saal to take their places at the table, neither flaunting nor 
vulgar, nor overdrest nor nervously staring about to see what the rest of the guests 
may think of their general appearance, a feeling which we English can hardly ever 
rid ourselves of, and then not sitting down with a noise which is meant to indicate 
the self-possession that is absent. 



34 HAMBURGH. [Chap. II. 

warm afternoon amongst the most agreeable portions of the 
town. First, however, I desired him to gratify my curiosity by 
showing me the great church, which I thought had been already 
finished by Scott, — formerly Scott and Moffat, — to whom 
England is so much indebted for improvements and economy 
in church architecture. I found it not far off, excellently 
situated in the centre of a place, but not above thirty feet 
out of the ground, and proceeding very slowly indeed for want 
of funds. Some thirty men might have been at work upon it; 
the town can afford no more just now, having been obliged 
to contract an enormous debt in consequence of the fire. 
The returns will eventually be considerable, when all the 
buildings are completed and occupied; but who that is cognizant 
of the transactions relating to the improvements in London, 
does not know, that the process of reimbursement is but slow, 
except in rare instances? The building should have been 
entirely of stone, but I presume the difficulty of procuring 
it at a reasonable price in the neighbourhood of Hamburgh 
has led to its being of a fine white brick, with stone quoins ; 
the interior is all of stone. It is not easy to have an accurate 
idea, from present appearances, what the effect of the whole 
will be when accomplished, but the columns inside, which were 
nearly all up, struck me as light and graceful, and I could not 
help viewing, with some satisfaction and interest, the work of 



Chap. II.] HAMBURGH. 35 

a fellow-countryman, who had won the employment in pre- 
ference to a vast number of foreign rivals, himself the only 
English competitor*. Whether this church, or the Cathedral 
of Cologne, will first be finished, remains to be seen. 

Having duly satisfied myself as to the state and prospects of 
this edifice, I turned to my guide, who begged me to walk with 
him a short way to see something worth seeing, and I soon 
found he had very correct ideas upon this subject. This 
sight was not the Exchange, but its population. The 
building itself is one of moderate antiquity and respectable 
appearance, larger in its internal area, much more com- 
modious, and somewhat lighter than our more splendid 
Tite-an structure in the City. It was saved by a miracle 
from the conflagration, not being attacked, like ours, with 
a fit of spontaneous combustion; everything around it was 
destroyed, but I suppose it was saved by the Lares, or Penates, 
or Deus Loci of the city, for certainly it is The Temple of the 
town, where people offer their daily sacrifice. 

One could very well have satisfied oneself without seeing this 
building ; — not so the scene which presented itself. It was the 
witching hour of afternoon business ; we soon got into one of 
the tributary streams which were pouring their human tide to- 
wards it, and in a moment were drifted into it, and up one of the 

* A model of this church was in our Great Exhibition. 

D 2 



36 HAMBURGH. ' [Chap. II. 

staircases leading to a gallery which goes all round the interior. 
Every moment seemed to add to the density of the crowd, 
and to the force of that deep and strange sound, ehhing and flow- 
ing, swelling and dying away, which arises from a crowd of men 
engaged in earnest conversation. I have often stopped in one 
of the crowded alleys of our City, and watched the faces and gait 
of the passers hy. They are silent, thoughtful, rapid, intent, 
greeting none hy the way, except sometimes with a very slight 
glance of recognition, — everything reminds you that you are 
in a place where the motto is, business first, and pleasure, if 
at all, afterwards; but I never met with anything there, which 
indicated the intensity of the Hamburgh merchant's feelings as 
he approaches his well-beloved 'Change. The reason probably 
is, because he feels he has a great deal to do in a short time, 
for he is a man that has other things to do besides. He will 
not altogether be a slave to his counter — he will have his siesta 
in hot weather — smoke, formerly his canaster, nowhisHavannah 
— and drink his coffee, or eat his ice in his luxurious house, or 
his cafe on the Jungfersteig, as the case may be. Certainly upon 
the 25th of July, 1851, they set themselves to the work of 
bargaining in real earnest; so much so, that I felt quite as if 
every one I met inwardly exclaimed, " What on earth is that 
idle blockhead doing here ?" and that if I remained much 
longer I should experience the fate of a luckless intruder into 



Chap. II.] HAMBURGH. 37 

the mysteries of Capel Court; so, I begged my guide to precede 
me, slunk away, and was not sorry to find myself outside the 
walls again, clear of this excited crowd. 

The one-horse chaise then conveyed myself and ciceroni 
to the Boulevards which surround the town, and which 
are admirably laid out in garden, drive, and pleasure 
ground, of the utmost importance both to the comfort and 
health of the inhabitants. The fortifications having been 
considerable, and the mounds of earthworks very great, you find 
yourself not unfrequently upon elevated sites which afford most 
agreeable views in every direction ; notably where the walks ter- 
minate at the north-western extremity of the town, and where, 
ending in a sort of bluff, they overhang the river. Thence you 
have a view of the town and shipping and country beyond, which, 
on a fine summer day, and seen for the first time, is enchanting. 
This spot has only one bad quality, namely, its proximity to a 
most villainous suburb, called Hamburgh er-Burg, debatable 
ground, about half- a mile in width, and the same in depth, be- 
tween the Hamburgh and Danish territories; through it the main 
road passes to Altona. It is the general resort and demoral- 
izer of the unfortunate sailors, who, poor fellows, are pecu- 
liarly open to such temptations. It consists of penny theatres, 
itinerant shows, dancing houses, low taverns, and lodging- 
houses, and is inhabited as one may suppose it would be 



38 HAMBURGH. [Chap. II. 

under such circumstances. My guide insisted upon driving me 
through it, to which I gave a reluctant consent, for I have no 
vocation for such sights; and it certainly would have furnished 
one of the present race of French novelists with a supply of 
fuel not likely soon to be exhausted. The very air felt sulphur- 
ous and sickly ; and it was my fate, for the second time in this 
great city, to rejoice in an escape from the sight I was seeing. 

Whilst standing over the Elbe, on the eminence already 
described, my guide pointed out to me certain barracks and a 
tavern, where the recent scuffle had taken place between the 
Austrian soldiers quartered there (a strange locality to have 
been selected for such a purpose) and some of the people, 
which ended in their firing, and several persons were killed. 
It is represented to have been a wanton sacrifice of life, 
and to have been occasioned partly by the soldiers — who are 
Foreign — not understanding the language and ways of the 
people, and partly by the want of conduct, if not something 
worse, displayed by those in command. 

I had heard on board the packet, from various individuals, 
of the unpopularity of the Austrians here, of whom they spoke 
in the bitterest terms, and this event, as may be supposed, has 
not tended to make matters better. I happened casually to in- 
quire whether any of their magnificent military bands were likely 
to play where I could hear them ? The answer was, " They 






Chap. II.] HAMBURGH. 39 

seldom play, except in private, for some Austrian officer; and if 
they do so in public, not a man will remain to hear them." I 
saw many officers about — they had not the air of men who 
think themselves in comfortable quarters, — indeed I was assured 
that the usual Hamburgh fairs could not safely be held, in con- 
sequence of the strength of this anti- Austrian sentiment. Upon 
further acquaintance, I found so much asperity existing between 
the Austrians and Prussians, that they seemed incapable of re- 
straining it. The feeling of the Hamburghers was very much 
with the Holsteiners in their wars, and they gave them quietly 
as much assistance as they could. They have now no friendly 
feeling towards the Prussian Government for their vacillating 
policy in the Schleswig-Holstein question, only they persuade 
themselves it has been owing to the interference of Austria, 
being determined, apparently, to find the latter power wrong in 
everything. 

It is said to be an Englishman's passion to mount an 
eminence whenever he arrives at a new place; if so, I plead 
guilty to the impeachment. An excellent opportunity of grati- 
fying my desire was here afforded me, at small cost, by ascend- 
ing the tower of St. Michael's Church. This tower is — I forget 
how many feet high — but I suspect, steeple included, it is the 
highest in Europe. The inside of the church is also worth 
seeing, for in one respect it is also a phenomenon ; being the 



40 HAMBURGH. [Chap. II 

largest pewed church known ; the mass of thick oak timber 
in it is inconceivable; and it will, it is said, contain 3000 
sitters. The pulpit is ingeniously placed, to give all who come 
a chance of hearing. I believe, in the Lutheran service, they 
care more for the sermon than the prayers, and more for the 
psalm-singing than either. Their canticles are selected in part 
from the Psalms, but also from the works of Schiller, and other 
of their favourite poets — not always with very strict reference 
to the orthodoxy of the sentiments they contain. The organ 
case is of prodigious size, and my guide assured me the instru- 
ment itself was also a wonder in its way. 

Ascents to great heights are usually fatiguing, — not the least 
so church towers; and one usually has the additional incon- 
venience of twisting round a corkscrew-stair till one is giddy, 
tumbling over broken steps in the dark, and having one's hat 
forced suddenly in an irritating manner over one's eyes, till 
stopped by the pons sacer of the nose. Occasionally, also, 
one emerges from the obscurity to have one's nerves sorely 
tried by a precipitous view of some hundred feet below, with a 
fragile rail or low parapet as the only safeguard. St. Michael's 
Tower is an exception to the rule; you can ascend by the church 
galleries, and find an excellent staircase with a massive hand-rail. 
In the tower the flooring is so contrived, that you have not to 
look down more than some twenty or twenty-five feet at any 



Chap. II.] HAMBURGH. 41 

time. The tower is of a curious and very unusual construc- 
tion. To the height of the church-roof, or thereabouts, it 
is built of stone, but upwards of wood covered outside with 
metal plates, which give it a sort of purple-brown colour. At 
a considerable altitude, the square part terminates in a balcony, 
and thence rises a spire, supported by four flying buttresses 
resting upon the angles of the tower. I am astonished that it 
has never suffered from lightning. The stupendous mass of 
wood, both in the tower and church, seems to be fearfully 
exposed to the conflagrations which it is made use of to pre- 
vent ; for the fire-watch resides here, in a snug little apartment, 
above the world; and one of the two men so stationed 
makes his rounds every hour, sounding the bell gently if all is 
well. 

My previous tower- mounting expeditions, as will have been 
perceived, not having been altogether without drawbacks, I found 
myself, on the present occasion, entering the lofty balcony in 
great good humour, which was further increased by a contrivance 
in the shape of a wooden flounce, extending outwards, carried all 
round the foot of the balcony, very much like the similar 
apparatus of a panorama, and which entirely took off the dizzy 
effect of a perpendicular view. The prospect is not very 
Alpine; but it is singularly extensive, and by no means 
devoid either of beauty or interest. In the first place, 



42 HAMBURGH. [Chap. II. 

I don't know how far others sympathize with me in the feeling, 
hut when I see a great river like the Elhe, the highway of 
North German commerce, beneath my feet, rolling majestically 
onwards towards the ocean, bearing its industrial freights upon 
its bosom, and diffusing the blessings of a bounteous creation 
on all sides, I fall at once to musing upon the stories of the 
lands through which it passes: the rise of the House of 
Hohenzollern, — the strange and romantic vicissitudes of the 
waning Saxon dynasty, — the heroes of the great religious 
struggle, — the sack of Magdeburgh, — the theses of Witten- 
burgh, — Huss, Ziska, Schiller, Gothe, and Frederick — and 
the times that have been, and are, and may be — all swept 
through my mind, like the wild huntsman on the Hartz, on 
which I was partly gazing. I traced the silver flood wandering 
amongst the greenest pastures for many a mile, — the whole 
country teeming with ripening produce, — and, in the stillness of 
the day, and the isolation of the place, my mind was lifted up 
to the merciful and beneficent Contriver of this glorious scene, 
and I felt that here, too, the earth was returning 

■ The gifts by nature given 
In softest incense back to Heaven." 

I was not only interested, but agreeably surprised, with the 
appearance of Holstein. I daresay I have read letters from 
the Times Commissioner about this province, which, had I 



Chap. II.] HAMBURGH. 43 

paid sufficient attention to them, would have given me a tole- 
rably accurate idea of what I now saw ; but I fancy that, from 
a former visit to Copenhagen, I got a sort of notion that all the 
state of Denmark was alike, a sandy, dull, flat, monotonous coun- 
try, without beauty, and without variety. Here, however, I was 
quickly undeceived ; for, although the features are not very strik- 
ing, the surface is broken into swelling hills and deepening dales, 
— woods, water, and cultivation blended in harmonious sweet- 
ness, and looking as if it would furnish enough, in corn and 
cattle, to feed half the world. A severe agricultural twinge for a 
moment disturbed the complacent current of my thoughts, in- 
spired by the appearance of so much productive power ; but so 
many favourable circumstances combined at that moment to 
give my thoughts an agreeable colour, that it passed away, 
and I don't know how much longer I might have remained in 
this dreamy state — 

" Far from the maddening crowd's ignoble strife " — 

had not the young gentleman who accompanied me, thinking 
probably he had done enough for the remuneration fixed 
by tariff for these excursions, called my attention to some 
building or tower which it was part of his duty to point out. 
I don't like showmen generally, and it is not my pleasure to 
have information forced upon me; I like my ciceroni to re- 



44 HAMBURGH. [Chap. II. 

main silent till I choose to ask a question. However, I must 
do this lad the justice to say, that he was by no means 
the worst of his order, and answered my questions without 
adding long stories of his own. To be sure, when I de- 
sired to be shown the Altona and Keil Kailway, he assured 
me it was invisible (a strong assertion, considering the height 
of the tower), till I showed him a train I had discovered in 
the act of leaving the terminus. 

There are several islands opposite Hamburgh, in the Elbe ; 
in consequence of which, the terminus of the direct railway to 
France and England by Hanover is at Waarburg, about three 
miles off; to get to which it is necessary to go by steam — a 
roundabout passage. They are, however, preparing to bring 
it across these obstacles, arid place it on the bank immediately 
opposite the town, so that goods may be transferred, at once, 
to and from the ships. 

It is extraordinary how little, almost no suburb, at first 
sight, this great commercial city, of a class peculiarly fertile in 
that species of adjunct, appears to possess. What there is 
stretches in an elongated line both up and down the river, 
but especially towards Altona, — and beyond that, again, 
towards Blancknesee. The churches struck me as being enor- 
mously large, and but few in number in proportion to the 
houses. There is but one small Komanist place of worship. 



Chap. II.] HAMBURGH. 45 

I descended my tower, felt I had done my duty, and, what is 
not always the case, that I had derived substantial pleasure 
from the act at the same time. A light thunder- shower which 
passed over compelled me for a moment to convert my convey- 
ance from open to close. I saw in the Great Exhibition some 
most elaborate contrivances for a similar combination; but if 
anybody wishes for a sample of an inexpensive and perfectly- 
efficient contrivance, let him eschew the Great Exhibition, and 
learn wisdom at the feet of a Hamburgh drosky-maker. I 
was so much pleased with the carriage, that I had almost de- 
termined to become proprietor in fee-simple of the vehicle which 
bore me; fortunately, however, I made no offer at the moment, 
the idea swiftly evaporated, and so we passed on through one of 
the most detestable and nefarious streets within and below the 
ramparts, it was ever my misfortune to traverse. It seemed like 
a continuation of Hamburgher Burgh upon a slightly- ascending 
scale; and the pavement was so bad that we could hardly go 
out of a foot's pace. I remonstrated — begged I might be 
driven away from this horrid den of dirt and vice; but it 
seemed like the fabulous long lane that had no turning, and, 
before I got fairly out of it, my delicate organs of digestion 
showed symptoms of a returning disorder. I endeavoured to 
extract an explanation from my laquais; but, somehow, his 
German and mine, when we quitted the ordinary routine, 



46 HAMBURGH. [Chap. II. 

did not fit, and I ended, somewhat uncertain whether he 
took me for some great moral reformer, come for the pur- 
pose of organizing a society for the suppression of vice, or 
whether he was tired of his jaunt, and wished to go the nearest 
way home. 

At the inn I arrived somewhere about half-past six. I don't 
very much care what I have for my dinner, if it is only masti- 
cable and apparently clean, and I was not yet sufficiently 
recovered from the preceding two days' disturbance, even had I 
wished it, to enjoy the pleasures of the table. But those who 
desire such things should beware of dining late in Germany. 
The size of a German kitchen would quite astonish any one 
who has only known our British furnaces, with all their ap- 
pendages. It is not very much bigger than a ship's galley, 
and it has to perform its daily task not only of furnishing 
dinners and suppers, but also breakfast, and any other supplies 
of coffee, tea, or chocolate, that may be wanted during the day 
— such an invention as a still-room being unknown. They 
make provisions for the diners from twelve to three, after which 
the servants dine, by which time the whole supply of viands, 
there being no such pieces de resistance as rounds of beef 
or legs of mutton, is fairly eaten up, and the fragments car- 
ried off in order to give space for the preparation of the final 
refection. The supper lasts from eight to ten, and so entirely 



Chap. II.] HAMBURGH. 47 

have I known the provisions to be disposed of during the day, 
that, coming in late at night to an inn in a large town, 
I have been unable to get a bit of anything but a piece of 
uninviting bread, and some twice-boiled half-sour milk. Our 
habits differ widely in this, as in many other respects, from 
theirs. But though their cooking apparatus falls below what 
great lovers of order and cleanliness would desire, yet we have 
been custom-ridden to such a degree in England, that we are now 
compelled to have a different servant and a different space allotted 
for every meal provided. You can generally get an eatable 
soup, a bit of ragged bouilli, some good potatoes, rather highly 
buttered, and a pudding; but, if you dine as late as I did 
on this day, you will not fail to remark that, although ordered 
beforehand, what was prepared at three is better partaken of 
then, than four hours after. After a while I walked out. The 
evening was warm and pleasant, and the lights on the Jungfer- 
steig sparkled like stars in the broad expanse of water. There 
are two very fashionable cafes on different sides of the square, 
which somewhat intrude upon the uniformity of the stone quay, 
because they are built out from it over the water on piles, or, I 
should perhaps say, wooden pillars. However, they add much 
to the brilliancy of the scene when the shades of evening 
advance, and furnish endless little tables and fountains of tea, 
coffee, chocolate, and liqueurs, with ices and cakes to all 
comers indiscriminately. There is generally an opera, but 



48 HAMBURGH. [Chap. II. 

there was no performance this evening. There are Casino de 
Venice, Tauz-reunions, and such like, without end, for which 
this town has an enviable or unenviable notoriety. The music 
both for concert and ball excellent; my leanings were not in 
that direction, — I was tired, — and the train for Leipsig was ap- 
pointed to start at seven the next morning, so I indulged myself 
with a stroll in the pleasure-ground beyond the Jungfersteig. I 
should have forgotten this fact, but for one circumstance. I 
had walked two or three hundred yards, had passed no gate, 
and was returning in an abstracted mood, when I was half 
brought back to consciousness by the interpellation of a dis- 
cordant voice. As there were two or three people passing, 
and I was walking as I thought harmlessly in the middle of a 
broad path, it never occurred to me that I could be the subject 
of the objurgation. However, I had not made two more 
steps before the same thing was again repeated, and a 
sentry placed himself across my path. I was very much 
astonished, and somewhat alarmed, at so rough a reception 
the first day of my being alone in a foreign land. My 
interrogator, who was not the sentinel but an irritable little 
old man in a long coat, in answer to my request for an 
explanation, which he either did not or would not understand, 
pointed to a small building close by, which in the gloaming I 
had not perceived, and peremptorily ordered me to proceed 
thither. I was wondering what would come next, when the 



Chap. II.] HAMBURGH. 49 

window, in which there was a light, opened, and a man, who 
was sitting by it playing at cards, putting down his hand at Put, 
demanded a Schelling. All at once I recollected that, whilst 
reading the invaluable red-book during the morning, I had ob- 
served that a custom prevailed, when Hamburgh was a fortified 
town, of demanding a small toll from all persons who came 
into it after sunset — I suppose a sort of fee to the gatekeeper 
for his trouble, which augmented as the hours became later, the 
trouble being presumed to increase in the ratio of the sleep- 
iness of the warden, and the chances of his being in bed. The 
book, however, did not tell me — what I now discovered to be 
the case — that the custom still continues, and the toll is levied 
at such imaginary boundaries as that I have described, namely, 
the middle of a gravel walk. Think of a free-born Englishman 
being compelled to pay a toll after sunset half-way up Constitu- 
tion Hill ! It turned out, therefore, that it was my having been 
guilty of attempting to pass the city gates without perceiving 
them, and of not paying the warden for the hardship of having 
to open them for me after sunset, which had caused all this piece 
of work. My fears being allayed, and this onerous tax of a 
Schelling, somewhat about the value of a penny, being duly 
discharged, I proceeded on my way, and reached the hotel 
without further molestation. 

E 



50 THE RAILWAY. [Chap. III. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE RAILWAY. 

The following morning dawned brightly; I had breakfasted, 
and was in my one-horse drosky on my way to the station 
by a quarter to seven, conning my Hendschel's Telegraph, 
which is the German Bradshaw — only even more complicated 
and difficult for men of ordinary tabular development, and 
less correct. I had a vivid recollection of the sieges laid 
to the platforms of the various metropolitan termini during 
the six weeks which preceded my departure ; the mountains of 
luggage which all the experience and expertness of the London 
and North -Western officials was scarcely able to contend with; 
the crowd and confusion of passengers, and the lateness of 
trains ; and I chuckled to myself as I reflected upon the mise- 
ries of my friends at home, and the comparative comfort and 
tranquillity of the entrance I was about to effect into the 
terminus of the railway leading from Hamburgh to Berlin, 
Dresden, &c. Shortly, however — owing to the great number of 



Chap. III.] THE RAILWAY. 51 

return droskies and omnibuses I met when approaching the 
station — I began to entertain a suspicion that I might, perhaps, 
be reckoning without my host. This suspicion was speedily 
converted into a reality, upon my coming in view of my des- 
tination. Not the platform, but the external entrances were 
inapproachable, from the crowd of struggling would-be passen- 
gers. No porter, clad in striped velveteen, or any other 
uniform, appeared to take charge of the baggage ; the hour of 
departure was rapidly approaching ; and I felt as if my journey 
was, like the course of true love, never to run smooth. What 
was to be done ? I thought to myself, this crowd never would 
be engaged in such a mortal struggle if the train did not start 
at the hour fixed, and a glance at the Telegraph showed me 
that it was the only one in the day that went my road. The 
fever seemed to be infectious, and for a moment I thought of 
grasping my baggage, and throwing myself in desperation into 
the swaying throng. However, I had sufficient presence of 
mind to restrain this movement, and I prevailed with some 
difficulty upon the drosky- driver to keep my effects on his 
carriage whilst I searched for an official. After a while I 
found one, and he undertook to get my ticket for me. I ac- 
companied him, and with great exertions got near the bureau, 
w hen — judge my horror ! — the man refused to take the thaler 
notes which I had got in exchange for English money in payment 

E 2 



52 THE RAILWAY. [Chap. III. 

of the fare. Now to stay another day at Hamburgh would not 
have been such a dreadful misfortune, but I had made up my 
mind that everything depended upon my getting on quick to 
Carlsbad; and, besides, there is that universal truth — which is 
ten times more true when the individual is of the fidgety order, 
and the place is a foreign country — 

" Noja piu una miglia in dietro que dieci in avanti." 

My feelings of annoyance were indescribable ; I vowed ven- 
geance against the faithless money-changer. I bethought me 
if I had any other sort of money ; and recollected I had a 
few sovereigns in a writing-box in my portmanteau. I thought 
it hardly possible I could get them out in time, yet still I might 
make the trial, and accordingly I rushed frantically out to find 
my drosky, amongst the eight or ten remaining there. Very 
strangely, and fortunately, as it afterwards turned out, although 
it had never stirred from the spot where I had left it, 
I was utterly unable to find it, and my despair was au 
comble. I again felt as if under the influence of an evil genius, 
but I returned to look for my friendly official, and told him what 
was the case, and asked him to go to the bureau to inquire if 
they would take the English money if I could produce it. 
Meanwhile the crowd had completely left the first and second 
class ticket bureau, and was confined to the third and luggage 
department, and when we got to the man of office, to my infi- 



Chap. III.] THE RAILWAY. 53 

nite satisfaction, but not small surprise, he made not the least 
objection to take the money, which he had so peremptorily 
refused before, and the reason of which, except it was from 
irritation caused by the quantity of dirty hands that were 
thrusting themselves at him at once, I am yet ignorant. This 
operation being concluded, I sallied forth with my civil friend 
to look almost hopelessly again after my baggage, expecting 
every moment to hear the fatal signal ; when it seemed as if 
it had vanished and returned again, for, as I have said, there 
it was, exactly on the spot where I had left it ; and the official, 
being then I presume struck by my flurried manner, informed 
me of a fact which he might as well have mentioned previously 
— namely, that the turmoil was perfectly unnecessary, because 
the train would not start till all were accommodated. 

I learned afterwards that the unusual number of persons 
congregated on this occasion was owing to a great many third- 
class excursioners, who were returning — on this the last day 
allowed by the bargain for so doing — to Berlin, and the 
struggle was caused by a desire to obtain certain seats in the 
train for that class of passengers, which are considered more 
agreeable. 

My mind being now set at rest, after about a quarter of an 
hour of tenter-hooks — for it took nearly that length of time to 
go through what I have described — I felt as much elated as I 
had before been depressed, and I waited quietly, with all the 



54 THE RAILWAY. [Chap. III. 

pride of conscious superiority, which, considering recent events, 
was singularly misplaced. I watched the intense jostling which 
was still going on between the proprietors of the various pack- 
ages, each endeavouring to get before his neighbour, to the 
inevitable weighing-machine. 

The strife was no joke, for I actually saw the rivalry in one 
case terminate by an appeal to arms; but the weapons, being 
the open hand, and not the double fist, did not leave any very 
serious traces. During my ten minutes' waiting, I could not 
help observing how singularly adroit and rapid the porters were 
in weighing, marking, making out the accounts, and stowing 
away the mass of trunks and boxes ; and if they had only had 
porters, as we have, to take away the baggage as it arrives, 
nearly all this confusion might have been avoided. At length, 
after a lapse of about half an hour from the time of my advent, 
the necessary preliminaries having all been gone through, I 
found myself on a narrowish platform, by the side of a very 
long train, all the carriages filled, except the two or three first- 
class, which are never otherwise than sparingly occupied. The 
second-class ones are much better than our own, and are made 
use of by all but the fastidious. I inquired where I was to 
insert myself as going to Leipsig, and was civilly shown to 
a carriage, at the door of which were some people talking 
eagerly, and laughing with a good-looking young lady, who 
was the only occupant of it. I made my way as politely as I 



Chap. III.] THE RAILWAY. 55 

could through the knot, and found myself in a compartment 
divided into six seats, which were, in fact, arm-chairs, with 
spring cushions, very handsomely fitted up with the finest 
cloth. 

After taking this survey of my conveyance, I turned my 
attention to the group at the door, and was not long in dis- 
covering that it was a bridal party, though until the hell (not 
a trumpet here) had sounded, I could not exactly make out 
which was the happy man. However, upon that event taking 
place, my doubts upon that point were set at rest by the ingress 
of the fortunate youth ; at the same time, another man, not of 
the party, took possession of the seat opposite to mine, and, 
having done so, scrutinized me somewhat more closely than 
was agreeable. We had but one engine, and I had some 
misgivings as to how we should get on, remembering to have 
been told that I should be very late at Leipsig, though 
my Telegraph said half-past eight. I was soon made aware 
that no engineering difficulties presented themselves, the coun- 
try being as flat as any railway projector could desire, 
and we travelled a very fair pace towards our first halt. 
No sooner had we arrived there than it seemed as if the train 
had turned out all its first passengers, and new ones were taking 
their places, accompanied to the doors by all their rela- 
tions and friends. What the meaning of it all was I am not 



56 THE RAILWAY. [Chap. III. 

sure, but it happened at every halt, and the result was, a talk- 
ing, confusion, and delay, perfectly astounding to English ideas. 
This confusion was heightened by the cries of the vendors of 
certain articles of refection which we are not accustomed at 
home to see carried about with the newspapers, and which 
require some description, as the nomenclature of one — and 
that the principal one — does not give a distinct idea of the 
breadth of its meaning. Achtes Baierisches Bier — genuine 
Bavarian beer — although, probably, it was brewed not more 
than half a mile from the place where it is so announced — is 
phraseology which has no disguise; but the great feature 
amongst the offerings for sale is that which is contained in a 
basket covered with a napkin, and which goes by the name of 
Butterbrod. Now, butter is butter, and brod is bread, and, un- 
questionably, Butterbrod does, even here, mean bread and butter; 
but it also means a good deal more ; because, besides a roll cut 
in half, and pretty well smeared with an oleaginous compound, 
upon the top of this is laid either caviar, cheese, sausage, 
Kipper Salmon, or cold meat, and by rejoining the dissevered 
sections of the roll, with more than one of these adjuncts, as is 
often done, you may indulge yourself in two courses at once — 
always provided your mouth is of sufficient dimensions, and 
your mastication powerful enough to make the first incision into 
the globular mass before you. This food — which is for the pur- 



Chap. III.] THE RAILWAY. 57 

pose of staying the stomach until the longer halts allow of a 
protracted assault upon more substantial viands — is highly in 
vogue, and, with a full train like ours, the supply, in the earlier 
hours, was hardly equal to the demand. 

I gathered from the conversation of my newly-married couple 
— which flowed on in a continuous stream — that they had been 
very recently united — had been to pay a visit to some relations 
at Hamburgh, who had accompanied them to the train, and 
were going home again to some place in North Prussia. They 
appeared to be in very comfortable circumstances, and though 
certainly they were rather demonstrative, the lady had yet an 
air of refinement about her which was captivating to me, and 
harmonized with the train of my ideas, which were roseate, my 
difficulties having been surmounted, and myself proceeding 
smoothly on my journey in a comfortable arm-chair, the weather 
fine, and the air balmy ; so that I looked complacently on this 
young love, and thought of their pleasant dream of life. My 
other neighbour scrutinized them with all his might, which again 
made me feel indignant ; but this time the feeling was virtuous, 
because I felt he had no right to be prying too nicely into the 
hallowed scene. Thus we went on to the second station, where 
the bridegroom got out, with an air of affectionate solicitude, as 
I supposed, to get a bouquet for the cynosure of his eyes ; — but 
my pen almost refuses to narrate the sequel. In the twinkling 



58 THE RAILWAY. [Chap. III. 

of an eye, with a joyous countenance, he returned to the girl 
of his heart, with a Butterbrod adorned with caviar and 
sausage. For a moment I felt convinced she would scornfully 
reject the proffered indignity; but, alas! the truth must be 
spoken — the pledge of affection was accepted with gratitude, 
inspected with the eager glance of desire, and the open mouth 
of appetite: I saw no more, but sunk down in my corner 
with averted eyes and a broken heart. 

My scrutinizing friend began to rise in my estimation, for 
although he had been out on the other side for a similar pur- 
pose, and brought back some unequivocal traces of what he 
had been about, still he had never deceived me, and there was 
a singularity about him which attracted my attention; the 
next halt — a branch railway at Kostock — relieved me from the 
oppressive young couple, and I devoted myself exclusively to 
the study of my remaining companion, who turned out as much 
better than I expected, as the others had done the contrary. 
I was, as I have said, prejudiced against him, because he exa- 
mined me with impertinent minuteness, and that prejudice 
was increased by certain twitchings of the mouth and nose, and 
other personal movements, indicating a high degree of nervous 
agitation. I hate fidgety people at all times, but especially 
when I wished— post tot discrimina — to be allowed the un- 
molested enjoyment of that sort of repose to which, with a body 



Chap. III.] THE RAILWAY. 59 

and mind quite at ease, and passing rapidly through the air 
on a fine day, one is always inclined. 

Existence was at this conjuncture a pleasure. I felt I had 
earned my holiday, and had all the inclination in the world to 
enjoy a pleasant day-dream. I have told how the first attempt to 
interweave the flowers of passing events into my illusive garland 
had been rudely shocked, and I now felt as if fate had resolved 
that I should he thwarted altogether in my innocent recreations. 
My companion got out at every station, — changed his seat several 
times, — pared his nails, and at length, to my infinite discon- 
tent, infected me with his own disquietude, by actually walk- 
ing up and down the carriage whilst the train was on its way. 
I could endure it no longer, for my irritability began to give 
place to some alarm as to what might happen next; so I broke 
silence with some trivial question, and the reply gave me 
much relief, for it was as gentle and quiet as his demeanour was 
the reverse. After a little while I learned from him that he was 
an Hamburgh physician, losing his eyesight, condemned to go 
to Marienbad, where he knew no one, to drink the waters for 
six weeks, and not to attempt to read a word the whole time ; 
he added,, that this prospect was so painful to him, that he 
could hardly bear the idea. So the scrutinizing glance, and 
the fidget being satisfactorily accounted for, I fell to pity my 
friend, and made use of my own — not remarkably useful — 



60 THE RAILWAY. [Chap. III. 

optics, to read the names of the stations, and the indications of 
the hour on the roadside, which he had difficulty in discerning, 
even when the letters and figures were of some size. Another 
cause of annoyance to him was, that as long as the lady was 
there he felt a delicacy about smoking (a strange sensation for 
a German) ; and the prevention of this horrid practice, in those 
habituated to it at certain hours, is torment. So he craved my 
permission to smoke a little, with his head half out of the 
window. Je suis bon enfant, besides, I commiserated his 
situation, so I did not object, and he became comparatively 
happy. Thus travelling, we arrived at Wittenburg, some- 
what more than an hour behind time, and here the crowd 
and confusion became excessive; for at this point the ways 
to Berlin and Leipsig part — there is a division of trains — 
an eating place, and an examination of baggage. I do not 
recollect showing my passport here, and I think I arrived 
at the Austrian frontier, about ten miles from Carlsbad, 
without being asked for it. One eating room served for all 
classes — about twenty round tables were set out — and how the 
Kellners in this Babel could possibly distinguish one man from 
another, and who ordered what, and what was to pay, passes 
my comprehension, for the viands were not set out, but ordered 
by each man according to his fancy. The variety was not very 
great, and the fare not very choice ; but the German appetite, 



Chap. III.] THE RAILWAY. 6 1 

once aroused, will not stick at a trifle, and they have a 
contempt for forks, and, I may almost add, of life, in the 
use they make of the knife, which would constantly prove 
fatal, were it not for the singular dexterity with which they 
wield that formidable weapon. How far they are capable of 
swallowing it without danger, I never could exactly fathom, but 
certain it is, that it somehow conveyed to their palates, in the 
course of a few minutes, such a quantity of meat, vegetables, 
and gravy, as would fairly rival a spoonbill ; and I saw that 
the whole was ordered, served, and paid for, to the entire satis- 
faction of all parties concerned. When the tumult and clangor 
of arms had a little subsided, and the Berlin train was dis- 
patched, I made an attempt myself, and there was still something 
left. 

How long we remained at this station I hardly recollect, but 
it must have been nearly two hours before — bag and baggage 
having been overhauled (they make a very slight search in a 
foreigner's luggage) — the train was ready to proceed to Magde- 
burgh. The mystery was shortly explained to me, of the 
journey from Hamburgh to Leipzig — no great distance — 
taking up thirteen hours and a half on paper, and fifteen 
and a half in reality ! for, independent of the custom-house 
search, we had now, after going a mile, to unload the whole 
train, in order to pass the Elbe by means of a ferry, the rail- 



62 THE RAILWAY. [Chap. III. 

way -bridge not being yet finished. I had an instructive lesson 
before starting as to the difference between precept and example. 
Having been walking about in various directions during this 
long halt, I did not approach the train to get in again until 
the bell was ringing for departure. There was only one first- 
class compartment — that in which I had travelled ; and there 
I saw in it my former friend and two other gents. All three 
were sitting, not giving an occasional furtive puff of smoke as 
before, but emitting volumes of this fragrant incense in all direc- 
tions. Having left school and college now some years, I cannot 
exactly recollect whether the ancients ever smoked — whether, 
after the mursena, and various other delicacies celebrated by their 
poets, and the Ccecuba servatum centum clavibus, these exqui- 
sites of old ever sat out in their porticoes in their Baian or 
Tusculan, villas and puffed a cloud; probably not, for, if they 
had, they would certainly have deified the root. Perhaps 
Bacche Pater vexere tigres — a iree translation of which might 
run thus: " Father Baccy, how the tigers do twist and tor- 
ment you!" — had a hidden meaning. One thing is, however, 
obvious, — that the Chancellor of the Exchequer forbids such 
penates in England. But to return; my stomach having 
still some unpleasant marine recollections, this incense in- 
censed me not a little, and I asked the superintendent in a 
stern voice, whether smoking was permitted in first-class car- 






Chap. III.] THE RAILWAY. 63 

riages. He replied, at once, that it was not. And when I 
pointed to these shameless offenders against law and order, he, 
in the most deprecating tone, hegged my patience till we 
crossed the Elbe, when he promised I should have a com- 
partment to myself. He excused himself from interfering with 
the new-comers, because, I thought he was going to say, they 
were princes of the blood royal. Oh, dear no ! — the chairman 
and vice-chairman of the railway company, who had signed the 
regulations against smoking in first-class carriages. Leges sine 
moribus vance, might, in truth, be said. So I had nothing left 
for it, but to submit with the best grace I could, not daring to 
enforce my right ; but, being at Wittenburg, I could not help 
hoping that some Luther might hereafter arise, and wage suc- 
cessful war against the sale of such abominable indulgences. 
I don't quite know how I looked as I seated myself in the 
defiled vehicle; but, if I may judge from the looks of my 
platter-faced companions, which I occasionally perceived 
athwart the smoky atmosphere, my countenance must have 
betrayed my thoughts ; and, if truth must be told, at that 
moment I was detesting the sinner, and more the sin. 

The bridge over the Elbe, which is here divided by an island, is 
a very large and ingenious work. The smaller stream is spanned 
by arches of stone and brick ; the larger, by a straight line of 
suspension, on the new principle — the higher line, or, so to 



64 THE RAILWAY. [Chap. III. 

speak, the rail of the balusters above, sustaining the roadway 
below. I think the estimated cost was about 50,000/. The un- 
packing of a train on one bank of a river, thence transferring 
the contents to a boat, — which boat is towed by a steamer round 
an island to the other bank, where the process is renewed, — is an 
operation which is easily conceived, and not agreeable to people 
who are in a hurry, or who are apt to leave their things in 
carriages ; but, so far as I was concerned, after our cold sum- 
mer in England, I enjoyed the fine weather so much, that I 
was not impatient, and I almost forgave my tormenters, in the 
pleasure of having got rid of them, and exchanging their super- 
fluous expirations for inspirations of fresh air. In crossing I 
was very much edified by watching a fleet of barges going up the 
Elbe, with their large and extremely picturesque sails, the 
management of which is extremely simple; — all they have to 
do, when they want to stop, is, to haul the peak of the long 
light hitcher up to the mast, and the sail disappears ; loose the 
haulyards, and you are again in full sail. They are of a pro- 
digious height, I presume to catch the wind above the banks, 
when they become higher than they are in this part of the world. 
They were nice, sturdy, well-painted, full-loaded, well-to-do 
looking barges ; they harmonized, too, with the colour of my 
thoughts, and I remember them with pleasure. I saw no semi- 
barbarous male head arising out of the after-cabin, such as one 



Chap. III.] THE RAILWAY. 05 

does sometimes see in another country from the canal path, 
accompanied not unfrequently by a female physiognomy of the 
same stamp, and perhaps an amphibious urchin or two, with 
matted locks, looking wildly, if not surlily, out upon the intruder, 
as if they did not belong to the same species. I always feel 
uncomfortable on a towing-path at an undue hour. 

The whole of our transhipment was effected with quite as 
much dispatch and success as could fairly be expected ; and, 
after a while, we again started for Magdeburgh. Upon the 
way I had the privilege of enjoying my own society in a car- 
riage which did not seem to have been made use of for 
pot-house purposes within the last twenty-four hours. As the 
day was declining, and we had still some distance to go, I 
looked at my watch, and then it became evident that the report I 
had heard in Hamburgh was more correct than the information 
in Hendschel's Telegraph, and that eleven or twelve o'clock at 
night was a more probable hour for our arrival in Leipsig than 
nine. The country through which the railway passes is ex- 
ceedingly flat, diversified occasionally by slight sandy eminences 
covered with firs. It was closely, and in many places well 
cultivated, though the crops were not quite what we should call 
luxurious. They were in a great variety of stages of ripeness 
— upon the whole not so forward as the southern half of 
England. Some were in flower, — I noticed one with a yellow 

F 



OG THE RAILWAY. [Chap. III. 

flower, with which I am not acquainted; but the most 
striking agricultural feature, as one traverses the country, 
is the enormous size of the farm-buildings, compared with 
our own: they will not stack anything out of doors if they 
can help it, and their sheep and cattle cannot support the 
rigour of the winter unprotected. The roofs are almost uni- 
versally of tile, and of a very high pent ; the farms, generally 
speaking, not quite so large as ours. 

On arriving at Magdeburgh, we did not exactly sack the 
town, but it was politely insinuated to us, that our rails had 
again come to an end, and that we must find our way to the 
opposite suburb, where the Gothen and Leipsig station was to 
be found. Somehow or other a sort of panic, like that of the 
morning, again seized the passengers ; we knew we were very 
late, and it was suggested that perhaps the train would be 
gone. So, never reflecting that the baggage must be trans- 
ported and reshipped, which would give ample time, a con- 
tention arose for the possession of some half-dozen droskies 
that were at hand, and which threatened to be serious, as 
the supply was infinitely below the demand; however, after a 
considerable display of brotherly love and self-denial, the car- 
riages being loaded as full as ingenuity could devise, the mass 
was transported in a feverish state to its destination. Those 
who did not get carriages, having had time to recover their 



Chap. III.] THE RAILWAY. G7 

senses, found that Providence had done much better for them 
than they had attempted to do for themselves. At the terminus 
we found truly that the train we ought to have gone by had 
departed at its usual hour ; but there is always another ready 
to forward the passengers to Leipsig, should they arrive late at 
Magdeburgh; so we had plenty of time to cool ourselves after 
our unnecessary fuss, before it was time to be reseated ; and, 
eventually, we reached Leipsig station at eleven o'clock. 



F 2 



08 LEIPSTG. [Chap. IV. 



CHAPTEK IV. 

LEIPSI6. 

I don't know how they prevent the frauds here which are 
said to be practised on our railways, and, in consequence 
of which, especially on the Great Western, there is a con- 
tinual cry of Stand and deliver ; or if they have more honest 
travellers to deal with; hut they leave you in unchallenged 
possession of your ticket. This I know, not alone from 
my own having remained uncalled for; but because, finding it 
accidentally in my pocket the following day, and being in 
the neighbourhood of the terminus, thinking the ticket-taker 
might suffer from his oversight, I presented it at the office, 
and the clerk declined its acceptance. I have an aversion to 
getting into a strange carriage in the dark, — and it was a dark 
silent night when we arrived ; a drowsy man appeared, declar- 
ing that, if I would give him my baggage-ticket, he would 
take the effects to the Hotel de Baviere. I said to myself, 
the Germans are honest and methodical, I like a walk, and 



Chap. IV.] LEIPSIG. 69 

even in the dark have such confidence in my organ of locality, 
that, though eleven years have elapsed since I last was here, 
I think I shall find my way. Accordingly off I set, and in 
a moment found myself outside the station, and unexpectedly 
quite alone; the greater part of the passengers had heen set 
down at other places on the road, and the few that remained 
were more prudently busied in searching out their own effects. 
After a while I saw a man, who directed me which way 
to turn first, and I knew I should not be long in finding a 
gate ; this I achieved, and entered the town. Here, however, 
I was fairly at a loss ; the only living things seemed to be the 
cats. Germans are early in their habits; half-past eleven 
struck. Fortunately, just as I was hesitating where four ways 
met, two individuals came out of a house, and walked rapidly 
towards me. I inquired the way of one, who, perceiving that I 
was a belated foreigner, insisted upon accompanying me, which 
he did to the very door of the hotel ; now, considering he had 
to go some distance, and entirely out of his way, this was very 
obliging ; but it is not by any means the first occasion on which 
I have experienced similar kindness. I recommended him to 
come to London and see the Great Exhibition, promising that, 
if I met him under similar circumstances, I would do as much 
for him ; but he relieved me from my obligation, by informing me 
that he had entertained the idea, but, having counted the cost, 



70 LEIPSIG. [Chap. IV. 

he had resolved in the negative. I was very nearly offering to 
treat him to an excursion ticket ; hut my enthusiastic gratitude 
was beginning to ebb, and, on the whole, I also determined in 
the negative, confining myself, when he took his leave, to 
profuse expressions of gratitude suitable to the occasion. Left 
alone in the street, I was about to ring with an awakening 
pull, when, taking a glance at the outside of the house, it made 
an unpleasant impression upon me. I had fancied I recollected 
a very good hotel, and that some one, before I started, had told 
me that he had found it such the year before ; so it suddenly 
occurred to me, that perhaps it was not the right place, after 
all, for its exterior had nothing to recommend it, having some 
four or five stories in close succession one above another, 
betokening low rooms and want of ventilation. So I strained 
my eyes for a while in vain, attempting to read the inscription, 
which I perceived in gilt letters at a certain height from the 
ground, but at last getting it edgeways into the rays of a 
corner lamp, I succeeded in deciphering " Hotel de Baviere." 
Don't you like to be received by a good-looking house after a 
long journey? I confess I have a weakness for external 
forms ; and I have seen so many inns in my life, that I think 
I have some right to lay down the law on the subject. The 
eye, if only properly educated, will tell a great deal in a very 
short time ; a good dish can be discerned at a glance, and many 



Chap. IV.] LEIPSIG. 71 

other things of a less material description, though it is the 
former that I am treating of just now. I think, in this case, 
the unpleasant effect was increased hy the gates of the porte 
cochere being shut, and hanging somewhat ruinously together. 
Standing hesitating before an inn-door in a foreign town, at 
twelve o'clock at night, is rather an odd position to be in, not to 
say that it has a suspicious look ; so I set about finding a bell, and 
was made sensible of the necessity of doing this without further 
delay by hearing the distant sound of wheels, which suggested 
the propriety of not losing the opportunity, which my walk had 
afforded me, of showing my self-denial, by securing the best 
vacant apartment for myself before the others arrived. The 
first pull got no response ; the second was more vigorous, as 
the sound of the advancing wheels became more distinct, and a 
voice from within proclaimed that some one was putting on 
something, and would comply with the summons immediately. 
The gates were then unbarred, and I entered in state, with 
greatcoat and stick, and half-a-dozen books. I informed the 
gate-opener of the probable arrival of my chattels, to assure 
him I was not entirely destitute of such appendages, and, also, 
that others were probably on their way. In return for my 
news, he informed me that he could receive me, and that the 
Kellner would forthwith show me my room. This functionary, 
accordingly, appeared, rubbing his eyes, evidently just out of 



72 LEIPSIG. [Chap. IV. 

his first sleep, and proceeded to do bis errand. The first floor 
gained, I made as though I would find my lodging here, but 
he continued ascending, unmindful of my hint, — the second 
floor was also passed in the same deliberate manner, — and I 
began to feel the third flight not only fatiguing, but affronting, 
and I remonstrated. " Honoured sir," was the reply, " the 
house is almost full." So, as I have before observed, all hotels 
in Germany are. At length one very small room opened its 
arms for me, ou troisieme, as Hobson's choice, and my guide 
quitted me. I felt strongly disposed to murmur, but could not 
make out upon whom I could vent my spleen ; besides, I had 
made a vow to be patient, and, after a gulp of the rising dissatis- 
faction, I kept it. It was shortly destined to a higher trial. 
The first success, however, as is generally the case, if I may be 
permitted a moral reflection, paved the way for a second. I knew 
the difficulty of obtaining anything to eat at such an hour; as, 
however, my wants were few, I reckoned upon their satisfaction, 
but without my host. The rattle of the carriage below gave a 
little animation to the deathlike stillness of the night ; and I 
remained up stairs, with a single candle, in a disconsolate 
mood, speculating upon the chances of the whole of my 
baggage coming to hand. Meanwhile, as I like, wherever 
I am, to get a notion of the locale and disposition of 
the space in which I am to pass the night, T commenced an 



Chap. IV.] LEIPSTG. 73 

examination of the etage on which I stood. First came a 
spacious landing, the walls of which were adorned hy sundry old 
coloured prints, representations of staring princes, and fading 
field-marshals highly decorated, — that led me to the staircase up 
which I had mounted to my present altitude. Sounds very ex- 
pressive of depth of slumber and weight of supper, in various 
keys, proceeded through the large crevices of the ill-shutting 
doors, and confirmed the truth of the Kellner's report. At 
last my eye rested upon a curious little window, ahout six 
inches square, over a door which led into a space which, if 
it had not been inclosed, would have been the well of the 
staircase. What I thought it was, it is unnecessary that I 
should particularize, — but I had my opinion ; suffice it to say, 
that I ventured to open the door, and there — hear it not, Ashley 
and Slaney ! tell it not at the Board of Health ! — there I 
beheld, in a space literally not five feet square, and with this little 
window, which was closed, its only means of ventilation, the 
Kellner of the landing, with his coat off, asleep on a truck-bed, 
upon which there was not room to stretch at full length. 
And so, by this said economy of space, got out of the staircase, 
here lodged, one above the other, the fortunate waiters of the 
establishment. My astonishment is, that one single night did 
not effectually do for them all. I don't know whether the 
Germans are long-lived, but I have often thought they must 



74 LEirSIG. [Chap. IV. 

have peculiar lungs, to exist in the sort of atmosphere they 
seem to delight in. The composite odours of the Speise Saal 
are inconceivable to those who have not experienced them ; for, 
unless an Englishman comes in by accident, and, regardless of 
the deprecatory looks of the other guests, ruthlessly opens the 
window to enable him to breathe a little fresh air, I don't think 
this species of ventilation would be had recourse to from one 
year's end to the other, and smoke and dinner fumes would 
alternately obtain the mastery. To save my sleeper from 
asphyxia, and have my conscience clear, I not only opened his 
little staircase air-hole, but left his door half open. I then 
descended to know my fate, and there saw that my effects had 
safely come to hand, and that the only other comers were my 
friends, the blind doctor and the railway king. The former, 
poor man! was actually compelled to ascend still a fourth stair- 
case, to find a gite; and I was in great hopes that the roof 
would have been put in requisition to receive his grumpy- 
ness ; but my kind wishes for his exaltation were disappointed, 
— he had written beforehand, and had an excellent room on the 
premier. Whilst the poor doctor was fumbling about up stairs, 
I sat down with his majesty at a table, upon which was placed 
one, not very considerable, cold chicken, the only remaining 
article of food which the larder could produce. After having 
eyed it in a sinister manner, he proceeded to put it upon his 



Chap. IV.] LEIPSIG. 75 

plate, made a sort of grunting apology for his appetite, as, he 
said, he had eaten nothing since hreakfast, and, in almost less 
time than it takes to describe, the whole had disappeared down 
his capacious throat. I won t say that some very few bones 
did not remain upon his plate, to testify to what had once 
beeu ; but such dispatch I never witnessed in my life, and I 
stared with unfeigned astonishment. He was evidently a man 
of the short school— deeds and not words ; for, after swallowing 
with equal facility half a loaf of bread and a pint of claret, 
he disappeared, giving orders to be called at five the following 
morning : it was then half-past twelve. The doctor got some 
bread and the never-failing compote; and there was set before 
me, according to my request, some bread, butter, milk, hot- 
water, sugar, and an egg. Stale bread in Germany is as 
bad a thing as fresh is good ; milk is always boiled, and never 
lasts sweet through the day ; hot-water boiled in a pipkin, with 
the remains of a greasy bouillon, is not agreeable when mixed 
with the aforesaid; butter is a very doubtful article here- 
abouts. Now, all these articles fulfilled my least sanguine 
anticipations ; and, as to the egg, it was not even necessary to 
try it by the usual olfactory process, a light current of air setting 
in that direction having wafted towards me the particulars of 
its forward condition. My experienced eye had already de- 
tected the state of things. A momentary needle-like prick of 



70 LEIPSIG. [Chap. IV. 

irritation shot across me, but I submitted to my hard fate, 
quietly got up, meekly took my candle, and, with an "auf 
wiedersehen" to the doctor, ascended to rest. 

Sleep is not my forte, either on a journey or anywhere else, at 
the end of a Session ; and though up at five, and not in bed till 
near one, it was long before I sunk into oblivion. How long 
I remained so, I cannot tell; but the first dawn of conscious- 
ness made me sensible that I was somewhere away from home, 
and that a solemn and most devotion- stirring hymn, in strains 
of celestial harmony, was stealing upon my ear. I was just suffi- 
ciently myself to be aware that I was not quite awake, and so fear- 
ful was I of breaking the charm which seemed to bind me, that I 
made an indescribable effort to remain suspended between sleep- 
ing and waking. I listened with intense delight to the beautiful 
cadences as they died away, and again swelled forth in richest 
volume, until at length they entirely ceased, and all was pro- 
foundly still. I was yet dozing, my soul bathed in ethereal 
colours, when, after a while, the strain again commenced. 
Was it in the house ? — was it in the street ? — was it thus that 
Sunday was ushered in where I was ? This time the dreamy 
state could no longer be retained ; I rubbed my eyes, saw the 
four walls of my little chamber, and became sensible that, though 
admirably subdued, the music was much nearer to me than I had 
imagined. The harmony was still low, plaintive, and suited to 



Chap. IV.] LEIPSTG. 77 

the day; but, recollecting I was in Germany, I fancied I had heard 
something of the sort before, and a terrible suspicion crossed 
me, that my devotional feelings, so highly wrought by the first, 
might be rudely flung to the earth by the second part of the per- 
formance, the former being a prelude to something of a very 
different character. I was not kept long in suspense ; the adagio 
was quickly followed by an andante of Labitzky's last, suc- 
ceeded at intervals by pot-pourri, polka, and galop. The music 
proceeded, as it turned out, from a small, but admirable brass 
band, some twelve or fourteen performers, stationed upon the 
landing, giving what they called a serenade ; strangely mis- 
named, for upon consulting my watch I was astonished to ob- 
serve that it was not yet six o'clock. The object of this musical 
treat was a captain of artillery, whom I afterwards saw — a nice, 
smiling, good-humoured little fellow, about five feet high — so 
small, I think he must have been attached to the Howitzers, 
who was passing through with his family, and his old regiment 
being stationed here, took this very matutinal method of wish- 
ing him God speed. 

Going to sleep again being out of the question, I got 
up, and to the first demand of an enlightened and sanitary 
Briton, I was informed, with an air of pride, that there were 
baths in the house. This was only partially true in one sense, 
and not at all in the other, as I soon discovered, for, on proceed- 



78 LEIPSIG. [Chap. IV. 

ing to avail myself of this welcome announcement, I found 
I had to go down an open yard in my slippers; a shower 
had recently fallen, and wet slippers are not agreeable ; arrived 
at the entrance, I found myself in the midst of a hazy atmo- 
sphere, caused by certain stout nymphs occupied in wash- 
ing. I was about to apologize for my dishabille, when a 
closer inspection made me sensible that it was unnecessary, as 
we were at least upon a par in that respect, so I passed on- 
wards, praying for patience, feeling a strong desire to abuse 
something or somebody for having trepanned me into this 
elaborate discomfort, under the guise of a luxury. Fortunately 
the seducer was not there. A rickety staircase brought me to 
the object of my search, but even here I was not destined to 
unalloyed bliss. I found alow room, with a very small amount 
of the modest furniture indispensable in such places, with two 
large copper tubs, lined with some white metal, not very bright, 
and destitute of linen, and which looked anything but of agreeable 
contact. I trode upon laths raised about two inches above the 
real floor, where the waste water ran, but with such wide inter- 
stices that it required great dexterity to prevent my already damp 
slippers from being entirely submerged and lost. I endeavoured 
to explain that I wished to have a bath, with the chill only just 
taken off; but unfortunately the man had poured a large por- 
tion of hot in, and there was no water pipe, or any means of 






Chap. IV.] LEIPSIG. 79 

getting rid of it, except baling it out by hand. I faintly asked 
for some hot linen, and was answered that there was no means 
of heating it. So I cannot recommend to my friends, who 
happen to be travelling this way, the Bade-Anstalt of the 
Hotel de Baviere. 

Altogether, the morning was not one in which I was destined 
to indulge my fancies. I presumed it not likely that there 
would be an English service, so I determined in my own mind 
that I would go to the German Church ; accordingly, when I 
descended to breakfast, after a toilette of some length, ren- 
dered necessary by the bathing adventure, finding I was 
right in my surmise, I inquired when the Lutheran service 
began, and which church was recommended ; I was informed 
that it was already too late, as eight o'clock was the hour 
of Divine Service on the Sunday morning in every church 
in Leipsig, and there was no second. So I could not 
join myself to where two or three were gathered together, 
though it was no willing forsaking, on my part, of the assem- 
bling altogether, as the manner of some, we are told, was 
formerly, — may be, is now. Left to my own resources, I took 
up Dr. Yaughan's last volume of sermons, which any one 
who desires to profit shall, I will venture to say, not read 
without being amply repaid for so doing. He seems to me to 
have gone deep and feelingly, and with a clear insight vouch- 



80 LEIPSIG. [Chap. IV. 

safed, into the profoundest mysteries of our faith ; and, withal, 
has the power of communicating his ideas in simple and com- 
prehensible language. 

The walk round the walls — or how shall I express it, for 
walls there are none? — but the walks upon the demolished 
fortifications of Leipsig, now a well-shaded pleasure ground 
of l'Anglaise, are amongst the most pleasing of these places 
of urban recreation (and there are many), with which I 
am acquainted in Germany. I recollected it well, and re- 
turned to it with unfeigned satisfaction, tempered, however, 
with the feeling of sincere regret, that we have nothing 
of the sort for our middling and poor folk in England. The 
value of such a thing, for such a town, is not to be calcu- 
lated; and the workman, with such a healthful advantage, 
must, even in bad circumstances, find less temptation to repine 
at the lot of his more fortunate neighbour, with his park and 
pleasure-grounds. In some portion, besides, he is sure to find a 
little stall or guinguette, with a sunny or shady seat, as the case 
may be, offering some humble but grateful luxuries for his 
enjoyment. What would I not give to see my own country's 
children of toil so furnished ! That I had not contented 
myself with wishing only for these things for them, sug- 
gested a complacent reflection ; but when I saw the people of 
Leipsig in their holiday attire, who have only a step to go 



Chap. IV.] LEIPSIG. 81 

to find themselves in this little Elysium, and then trans- 
ported myself back in thought, per mare per terras, and 
saw the access to the Thames on both sides absolutely forbid- 
den, and thought of the long walk that must in most instances 
be taken to gain even such bare recreation as our parks afford, 
the contrast was annoying. I cannot at this moment recollect 
whether, in many foreign towns, not formerly fortresses, the 
same attention has been paid to the wants and comfort of the 
people. Hamburgh, Frankfort, Vienna, Leipsig, and some 
others that I could name, owe these advantages to curtain and 
bastion overthrown, and fosse converted to other purposes, and 
embellished. This, the inhabitants of those places were for the 
most part not slow to accomplish after the last war, having 
tasted some of the sweets of a siege, more or less protracted, 
in which the interests and wishes of themselves — the real 
sufferers — were probably never for an instant even adverted to. 
Lyons and St. Etienne, if I recollect right, are not so well off; 
and Elberfeld and Barmen are, or at least ten years ago were, 
still interspersed with gardens. But when one thinks that 
there is not one town of any importance in England where 
anything approaching the "Anlage" of Leipsig exists, and that 
every day more and more of desirable suburban spots are 
becoming riveted in the stern bonds of brick and iron, 
it does strike one's mind most forcibly, that of all classes of 

G 



82 LEIPSIG. [Chap. IV. 

European peoples, the English workman is the worst off in 
respect of attractive, or indeed of any space for recreation; and, 
considering the air, loaded with soot and damp, not to mention 
other impurities, in which he works, no one stands in such 
extreme need of adventitious aid as himself. The aristocracy 
and the middle class have hoth sinned against him ; the one 
intent upon his gratifications, the other upon his gains, left 
their weaker brother to shift for himself, and so he went to 
the wall. 

I have before said that I like finding my way about a 
place myself, even though I have a guide. Now, the laquais 
de place was not necessary for the walk I have been describing ; 
but he was so for the post-office, and I took one for that pur- 
pose, and also as a good souffre douleur upon whom to practise 
my German. This man communicated to me a singular cir- 
cumstance illustrative of the eventful lives of the clergy one 
occasionally meets with doing duty in partibus. In answer 
to my inquiry, whether there was not sometimes an English 
service at Leipsig, he informed me that latterly there had not 
been any, though formerly an excellent Geistliche had inhabited 
the town, and for a length of time performed the sacred office in 
his own house, where also he had received some pupils. On the 
Sunday he was wont to employ my informant to gather together 
the outcasts of Israel, who might be found in the various 



Chap. IV.] LEIPSIG. 83 

hostelries of the town, and who could be induced to accept such 
spiritual food as he had to offer for an optional remuneration. 
All went on smoothly for some time, but, he added, " at length 
either so few came, or remained on the first day of the week, that 
for that or for some other cause, he was obliged to give it up.' 
He said this latter sentence in so hesitating a manner, that I 
suspected he was not telling me the truth, and a very little 
questioning elicited the following story as the real cause of the 

cessation of the Rev. Mr. 's duties at Leipsig. One day 

my guide was casting his net as usual, to catch as many fishes 
as he could, with which to make loaves for his employer, when, 
upon putting the usual question to a guest at the Hotel de 
Baviere, whether he desired to attend service, he was met 
by an inquiry as to the name of the individual who pro- 
posed to perform it. That interrogatory being satisfied, the 
stranger seemed to take an unusual interest in the person 
in question, and begged to have a description of his ap- 
pearance, age, &c, and, finally, in an off-hand manner, in- 
quired the way to the police station. My guide being a man 
of reflection, and having a sneaking kindness for his reverend 
friend, bethought him that there was something a little unusual 
in the proceedings of this traveller, and so betook himself to the 
lodgings which were at the moment being converted into a tem- 
porary tabernacle. There he informed the owner of what had 

G 2 



84 LEIPSIG. [Chap. IY. 

just passed, and gave the name of the mysterious stranger 
•which he had culled from the Livre d'Etrangers. The parson 
smiled — a smile indicative of confidence in his own resources ; 
he did not hurry himself; he knew that legal delays, proverbial 
everywhere, are not less real in Saxony than elsewhere. A 
slight indisposition prevented the usual morning service. The 
railway left at a quarter to three, and when the authorities 
arrived at five o'clock, like the baseless fabric of a vision, 
not even a wreck was left behind. A too great facility of ex- 
pending other people's money without a sufficient attention to 
the law of restitution, was supposed to have been the cause of 
this singular and abrupt termination to the English service, 
and the transference of this gentleman's labours elsewhere. But, 
alas ! — must it be confessed? — the ministerial representatives of 
our church, on the Continent, have not hitherto been very well 
calculated to make it shine in the eyes of those amongst whom 
they dwelt. Within my own knowledge one was in a similar 
predicament to the above, another was half mad, a third had 
eloped with two ladies, and a fourth had collected a subscrip- 
tion, and wheri the auditors appeared, there was nothing to 
audit. In another case two rivals claimed exclusive minis- 
tration in the same locality, had each a flourishing party, 
and mutually excommunicated each other and flocks; while 
the last in the catalogue set congregation and all authority, 



Chap. IV.] LEIPS1G. 85 

native as well as foreign, at complete defiance ; and, for fear this 
should not be sufficiently known, issued numerous pamphlets 
upon the subject of his rights and wrongs. I deeply regret it; 
I wish some remedy could be applied, though I have none to 
suggest, for the comfort of finding the Church service in one's 
own tongue, in foreign lands, is always great, but it is un- 
speakably so when one happens to be alone. The moral I 
draw from this state of affairs is, not to make too nice inquiries, 
when one finds a service, as to who or why, but simply to profit 
by the occasion, and hope for the best. 

The specimen I had had of the supper, breakfast, and bath at 
the hotel, my nerves being still somewhat under marine in- 
fluence, made me abstain from any further attempt upon the pro- 
visions of the hotel, which I quitted soon after three, on foot, and 
made my way to the Hof Kailway station : certainly if great civi- 
lity and cheapness could compensate for certain other deficiencies, 
to which I have more or less alluded, the Hotel de Baviere 
would stand very high. If I recollect right, the charge for 
lodging, such board as I had had, service, and conveyance of lug- 
gage in an excellent carriage, which would also have conveyed 
my person, had I wished it, both from one station and to the 
other, amounted to no more than 65., and I was bowed out of 
the house with as much ceremony and thanks, as if I had been 
travelling on the Dover Eoad with four horses, having passed 



86 LEIPSIG. [Chap. IV. 

the night at Canterbury, and prohably paid ten times that sum. 
A very nice buffet at the station supplied my moderate wants, 
and I was soon on my way to Zwickau, where railway transit 
in the direction of Carlsbad ceases. 



Chap. V.] ZWICKAU. 37 



CHAPTEK V. 

ZWICKAU, AND THE JOURNEY. 

The state of the weather kept me in some alarm; it was 
now the evening of the 27th, three or four thunder showers 
had fallen during the day, sunset was approaching, on the morrow 
was the full moon with a total eclipse, more than half our 
harvest was still to he gathered in, and I have from obser- 
vation a strong persuasion that the weather immediately follow- 
ing a visible eclipse will be the pattern for a great length of 
time. When the train arrived at the Zwickau terminus, a 
very heavy cloud seemed to be approaching from the west, 
lurid not only with the flashes of fire which it bore in its own 
bosom, but with the tinges of the sun now verging toward the 
horizon. 

The station is above the town, and distant some three- 
quarters of a mile; the view picturesque and pretty: spires, 
towers, high gables, and quaint-looking edifices abound; 



88 ZWICKAU. [Chap. V. 

it is partially surrounded by an old embattled wall, and 
it sits in the midst of orchards, and gardens, and verdant 
meadows, watered by pellucid streams. I inquired the name of 
the best hotel, and was informed it was the Grline Tanne, a 
sign I had never heard of before, and was much puzzled to trans- 
late ; but eventually I discovered that it was the Silver Fir — a 
designation highly suited to the place — situated as it is in the 
outskirts of the Erzegebirge, which abound in that species of 
tree. A wooden label, dangling from the box of a caleche, an- 
nounced its belonging to the aforesaid inn, and after one glance 
at the heavens, and another at the intermediate space between 
station and town, which displayed a nice-looking devious path at 
the bottom of the hill, I decided, as I generally do, for the risk, 
when walking from the train to a new place is in question. 
Accordingly, I placed my effects in the hands of the kutcher, 
and recommended them to his special protection. Now this 
kutcher was the very impersonation of the old, slow, phlegmatic, 
inexorable Saxon postboy — a wight of few words — who took 
my baggage, counted the parcels, pointed with one thumb to 
the darkening skies, then with his head to the inside of his 
vehicle, and seeing I did not take the hint, shrugged his 
shoulders contemptuously, climbed leisurely into his seat, rolled 
the cigar back into the centre of his mouth, from the corner 
into which it had been pushed by the usual organ of speech, 



Chap. V.] ZWICKAU. 89 

cracked his whip, which neither had, nor was meant to have, 
the smallest effect upon his team, and departed. I descended 
the hill also, a little out of humour with Providence for making 
me fidgety about the storm, when I wished to enjoy a walk 
and a soothing view at my ease ; I marked how the passengers 
going before me missed the path, which I felt sure, though it 
seemed to be roundabout, was the real pleasant way to the 
little town, and then fell to thinking onwards to my journey the 
next day. These thoughts took a rule of three shape, doubt- 
less suggested by the sight of the individual I have just 
described, and I said to myself, "If the difference between 
the speed of an English and a Saxon railway is so much, what 
accumulation of Saxon postboys will make one English 
locomotive?" I tried to remember the distance between the 
earth and the sun, which was the largest number I could recol- 
lect, until the difference between a spoonful of mother tincture 
and a homoeopathic globule occurred to me, and that, I have 
no doubt, would give the product required. A very large and 
ominous drop, which at this moment fell upon the back of my 
hand and broke into sparkling fractions, warned me that reveries 
were not always safe, and I commenced in good earnest seeking 
for some breach in the old dilapidated walls, where I could 
make my untriumphal entry. I made up my mind to do all in 
my power to disappoint the kutcher, who, I felt sure, would be 



90 ZWICKAU. [Chap. V. 

as much delighted as it was in his nature to be, if he could see 
me arrive perfectly drenched. In this, fate was kind, for the 
heavier part of the storm gave me sufficient respite to enable 
me to pass rapidly by the old church, through a few antiquated- 
looking streets, and arrive unharmed at the inn. 

If the boy was phlegmatic, not so was mine hostess of the 
Silver Fir ; she was of ample dimensions, of a tender disposi- 
tion, and gave me a reception which would have dried a 
thousand showers ; patted me on the back, anticipated all my 
wishes, presented me in form to the Ober Kellner, who was 
about to become her son-in-law, and in five minutes I felt as if 
I was one of the family. She loved the English, so of course 
she loved me ; now all this is, in some countries, the preface 
to deliberate extortion ; but such was not the case upon this occa- 
sion, for the charge was even less than at the Hotel de Baviere, 
and the board and lodging were as good as the other was in- 
different; indeed, if I exclude the drawbacks which are in- 
separable from a German inn, the occasional odours of the kitchen 
and back-yard, from which my own apartment here was almost 
exempt, I have rarely been better accommodated. I was descend- 
ing to the Speise Saal, when the stout lady inquired if I wished 
for a Gelegenheit to Carlsbad. Upon explanation, it seemed that 
this meant, Do you like to go shares in a carriage with some one 
else ? She assured me there was a charming couple who had been 



Chap. V.] ZWICKAU. 91 

waiting a day for such a thing, and somewhat curious to know 
to whom she destined me, I requested her to allow me to take 
a physical view of the offer in question before I came to a deci- 
sion. Thereupon she pointed out to me a crusty -looking old 
Beamter, with a faded beauty at his side, and was proceeding 
with her wonted dispatch furtively to show me their luggage, 
and how small it was, when, drawing myself up, I gave her to 
understand, in a stately and dignified tone, that it was my in- 
tention to engage the couper of His Imperial Royal Majesty's 
Eilwagen entirely to myself. It starts at nine, said I, on the 
arrival of the early train from Leipsig, and that will be my con- 
veyance. She mildly informed that that might have been my 
conveyance ten days before, but could not be so now, seeing 
that to-day was the 2?th, and that on the 15th both train and 
diligence had ceased to run. At first I was almost disposed 
to cast an unworthy suspicion on my most disinterested hostess, 
but I should have been quite wrong. This arrangement, which I 
had heard of, and which was made purposely for the accommo- 
dation of the kurgaste in Bohemia, absolutely terminated on the 
day mentioned, when the tide was flowing at its fullest, because 
in former times that was considered the period after which it 
would be inexpedient for water drinkers to commence their cure. 
German ideas, truly, do not keep pace with our notions 
of progress. Which of the two countries derives the greatest 



92 ZWICKAU. [Chap. V. 

amount of general comfort and happiness from their different 
modes of carrying on life, is a matter of opinion, but not 
altogether quite clear to me. So, not being able to have my 
own way, and having eschewed the proffered Gelegenheit, I 
requested to be furnished with as light a carriage as could be 
found, with the proviso that it. should be sufficiently roomy to 
admit of my effects not being placed in that odd-looking wicker- 
basket, which is an essential part of the German Lohns wagen, 
and which, as it is upon the hinder bed of the carriage, and not 
on springs, was probably invented for the good of trade, to 
destroy everything confided to its fatal embrace. The horses 
were to be of the best, and to bring me to my destination, 
eleven German, or some fifty miles English, very hilly, in 
eleven hours. The valley of the Molde was to be ascended, 
and the ridge over-passed which separates it from that of the 
Eger. Twelve thalers, and one additional for Trinkgeld, was 
the price to be paid for this journey. 

These important preliminaries being settled, I proceeded to 
my repast in the Speise Saal. The storm had spent itself, 
and the last rays of the setting sun exhibited a vivid rain- 
bow — the most perplexing sign of future weather to the 
weather-wise ; it has been celebrated in contradictory distiches, 
giving hopes and fears to all. I had just sat down, 
when a party of five — three women and two men — entered, 



Chap. V.] ZWICKAU. 93 

and took their reserved places with evident satisfaction. An 
elaborate supper was served, and shortly a large dish appeared, 
which produced the liveliest sensations of pleasure. It was 
filled with gigantic craw-fish, for which the neigbourhood is 
celebrated, and to partake of which this party had left Leipsig 
for their Sunday out-ing. They did justice to it; for the 
vocal sounds of approbation were immediately hushed, and 
gave place to an alternation of crackling and sucking, incident 
to such enjoyments, until nothing but empty shells, dis- 
jectaque membra, was left to tell the red tale of carnage that 
had taken place. I don't thiuk this most anti-sanitary repast 
disagreed in the slightest degree with any of the party; for 
they sank into grim repose in the rooms on either side mine, 
without a sign, and, though I was pretty early, they were off 
again for Leipsig before me. 

The long looked-for 28th dawned gray and fresh, after the 
heavy showers of the previous day ; many clouds were about, 
but not either of a very dark or cumulous character ; so that, 
when I stepped out of the arched gateway, my spirits rose at the 
prospect of a drive and walk over a highland country, in fine 
weather, with a raree-show towards the conclusion of it. This 
buoyant feeling was not, however, altogether unalloyed ; having 
a misgiving that my acquaintance of yesterday would be the 
gentleman selected to have the honour of conducting the 



94 ZWICKAU. [Chap. V. 

Gnadige Graf; for to that dignity the order of a carriage for 
myself had promoted me. 

I was here witness to a transaction which shows that there 
are more ways than one of calculating. On a table I perceived 
my hostess, fat, fair, and forty, busily employed in turning over 
and minutely examining a quantity of party-coloured wooden 
knobs, about the size of marbles half flattened. At first, I 
thought she was playing a new patience ; but, upon inquiry, I 
discovered that it was the method of keeping accounts between 
the Ober Kellner and the landlady. These counters belong 
to the gentleman, and different colours represent different 
values. Everything that he receives from the storeroom, cellar, 
or kitchen, he pays for in this coin, and is obliged to produce 
the sums which these counters represent the following morning. 
If he chooses to give credit imprudently, wo betide him ; the 
loss will inevitably fall upon him. The situation of the Ober 
Kellner throughout Germany is one of great trust ; for it is, 
of course, obvious that, notwithstanding this apparent security 
to the landlord, a good intelligence between the cook who 
delivers, and the Ober Kellner who receives, would soon di- 
minish the profits of the host and enrich the delinquents. The 
good ones are well known and eagerly sought after, have a 
regular status, and are treated with considerable respect by all 
parties. They are upon an intimate footing with all the fre- 



Chap. V.] ZWICKAU. 95 

quenters of the house, with whom they daily exchange all the 
gossip of the neighbourhood. They are of respectable families, 
and usually discharge their trust with great fidelity. 

The clock struck six, and the carriage was declared to be 
ready. I was very sorry not to have time to make acquaint- 
ance with the old church, to which the memorials of Luther, 
and the appearance of the exterior, equally invited me ; but a 
German sexton won't be disturbed at undue hours, and I had 
a long journey before me. 

There is also here one of the three houses of correction which 
appertain to Saxony, and which, if it is as singular in its inte- 
rior arrangements as it is in its exterior, must be worth a visit. 
It has the loftiest and steepest gable conceivable. I was in- 
formed that the dormitories were in the highest part of the 
roof, and, during the night, the communication between them 
and the rest of the building being cut off, by the removal of 
the ladder of access, all chance of escape is taken away. There 
is, besides, a quaint old house, an inn, called the Golden 
Anchor, with a projecting window at each extreme angle, 
from one of which it is certain that Luther preached to vast 
numbers of his countrymen; and it is said Melancthon took 
up his parable at the other, I presume when his more sten- 
torian companion was tired, as the windows are almost too 
near for simultaneous action. In my own mind, however, 



96 ZWICKAU. [Chap. V. 

unfortunately, there is so close a connection between hotel 
windows and hustings, that I never see anything of this sort 
without that indescribable sensation which is only perfectly 
understood by electioneering candidates of moderate nerves 
and doubtful fluency. 

As I have said before, the clock struck six, and the car- 
riage was declared to be ready. I was accompanied to it 
by all the household, and then perceived that, sure enough, 
my presentiment was realized. There stood Josef, accoutred 
for the journey, looking, if possible, more the image of 
slowness and obstinacy than before. The sight had a dele- 
terious effect upon my nerves, which was further increased 
by my infatuation in attempting to mend matters, by address- 
ing him in a strain which was meant to be patronizing and 
jocular, and saying, as we drove out of the court-yard, "Nun 
Schwager, fahren wir geschwind nicht wahr?" Upon which 
he turned upon me with a " Wie," (the pleasantry having pene- 
trated about as far into his hide, as Priam's spear did into the 
shield of Neoptolemus,) accompanied by a look of indignation 
and contempt, which seemed to me to convey, " How can you 
be such an idiot as make such a speech?" And forthwith, 
to demonstrate practically how much he appreciated my con- 
descension, he commenced at a slow and deliberate walk, to 
give me the benefit of every inequality in the Zwickau pave- 



Chap. V.] ZWICKAU. 97 

ment, which is so very uneven that I fancied myself once again 
in Oxford Street or the Strand. I mentally tutored my rising 
indignation by repeating, " He that is slow to anger is better 
than the mighty, and he that ruleth his spirit, than he that 
taketh a city ;" and when it was, as in this instance, a case of 
what cant be cured must be endured, much force was given 
to the moral. We continued this brilliant pace until we reached 
the first toll-bar, a short distance from the town, where the 
" Mauth" being duly paid, the important operation of lighting 
the first cigar commenced. Alas ! the old pipe, which hung so 
gracefully from the mouth of the Sch wager in days of yore, is 
passing towards the things that were ; the all-pervading cigar 
is usurping its place even here, and levelling all distinctions. 
The meerschaum-makers, however, are not altogether thrown 
out of employ; for they have inventions in the nature of 
mouthpieces of infinite variety in colour, length, and shape, 
and into which the cigar is inserted, and smoked at a greater 
or less distance from the mouth, according to the fancy of 
the individual; many of them are so contrived as to give 
the wearer a most comical appearance, the cigar rising at an 
acute angle from the tube towards the face, and the lighted 
end sending forth its curling smoke into the nose of the operator : 
that, however, may be, probably is, an additional recommen- 
dation. We say, " enough is as good as a feast;" that is not so 

H 



98 ZWICKAU. [Chap. V. 

with a German. I doubt whether any quantity of smoking would 
be too much for him ; and a patented invention, which would 
enable the possessor to continue smoking whilst asleep through 
the night, would, I am convinced, make a man's fortune. What 
their stomachs can be composed of, it is not easy to conceive. I 
have spoken to many, who declared to me, that, as long as they 
could recollect anything, they had smoked, and some to a great 
extent, without suffering from it. My driver on this day, during 
the somewhat more than eleven hours that we were on the road, 
never discontinued for a moment ; and, if the villanous weeds 
which he consumed had been all put down in a line, they must 
have reached fully half the entire distance. These cigars are 
certainly not costly ; but as all he was to have for his day's 
work of fifty miles, or thereabouts, was a thaler, three shillings 
English, with no certainty of a back fare, for which he might 
have to wait a day or two, this habit must make a considerable 
inroad into the yearly revenue of such a man. 

I was not a little amused, after ten years' absence, to see my 
old friend, the German toll-bar, in its zebra state, as unsophis- 
ticated as ever, with that ingenious and complicated invention, 
a stone or two taken off the road and placed in the wooden 
cavity at the short end of the bar, to ensure its proper elevation 
at the proper time, looking like a monster fishing-rod when up, 
and a neat leaping-bar when down. The number of accidents 



Chap. V.] ZWTCKAU. 99 

that would have happened in our island before this time, from 
horses rushing through, before the leisurely, jerking, clicking 
ascent of the pole had been completed, and the danger always 
arising from the inequality of head-room after the evolution had 
been performed, are not to be told, or the number of indignant 
letters to the Times which would have ensued, and swept the 
intruder from our path ; but the censorship and the habits of a 
people accustomed to the swaddling-clothes of a bureaucratic 
government bid defiance alike to the inroads of time and the in- 
novations of inventive genius ; and so, until the dark and one- 
coloured iron rail shall fairly have supplanted its rival, the toll- 
bar will remain a monument of the past: then, however, we shall 
cease to be aware from the usual indications, when we pass from 
the territories of one sovereign into those of another. Either on 
account of my preserving a dignified silence for some time, and 
abstaining from all observations as to the pace we were going, 
or from the genial influence of the narcotic, the crust of my 
conductor began, after awhile, to soften a little ; an amble suc- 
ceeded to a walk, and then a trot over favourable ground ; then 
he became communicative upon the history of his mistress and 
her establishment, and the nature of the country through 
which we were passing, which is very pretty, and rich in coal, 
lead, cobalt, and other mineral productions, and is the locality 
where coke is made in great quantities for the north German 

H 2 



100 ZWICKAU. [Chap. V. 

railroads. There are pretty valleys, picturesque chateaux, vil- 
lages, churches, small towns, &c. ; for the Erzgehirge have 
been famous in story, in legend, and in mineral enterprise from 
time immemorial. Indeed, one spot, celebrated of old for its 
silver, since almost entirely exhausted — Joachim's Thai — gave 
its name to the coin of the largest circulation in the world 
— the thaler or dollar. The roads had been well watered by 
the showers of the previous day, the air was fresh and deli- 
cious, all fragrant with the odours of the wild thyme and pine : 
as it swept gently over the higher portions of the range 
I was ascending, it was almost as unlike Dr. Eeid's parliament- 
ary infusion as the German postboy to the English locomotive. 
I felt like Alp on the shore of the isthmus, and my spirits 
rose as I mounted upwards ; I enjoyed my existence thoroughly, 
like an ephemeride, for I had no desire to eat. I watched the 
fleecy clouds as they floated over the sun, and speculated upon 
my chances of a good eclipse, and, during the several halts for 
refreshment of self and horses, made by my conductor, I strode 
away over the hills by tangled copse and heathy upland, until 
at length the snail overtook me again returning to the road from 
some accidental digression. I found a party in the Speise Saal at 
Eibenstoch, taking a much more material view of the subject; 
they told me, in the intervals of discussing the inevitable 
Rindfleish and Kartoffle, that they had just left Carlsbad, 



Chap. V.] ZWICKAU. 101 

— that, though there were still a great many people there, I 
should have no difficulty in finding a lodging, as the early 
comers were now departing ; hut they inveighed bitterly against 
the rapacity of the inhabitants, bid me beware, and recom- 
mended the Morgenstern — a second-rate hotel. . What part of 
the country they belonged to I did not make out, but I was 
afterwards curious to know; because, except at Prague, I 
should not have thought it possible to live for less than one 
does at Carlsbad. 

From Wildenthal the ascent to the summit of the pass is 
very gentle, and thence you descend the whole way to Carlsbad. 
The Austrian custom-house made no examination of my goods ; 
the porters took a trunk down and put it up, and asked for a 
Trinkgeld for their trouble. The tongue of my Saxon driver 
began now to untie itself, and he became quite eloquent in 
jeering his Austrian Koman Catholic neighbours. He de- 
clared that the Government and the priests had ordered all 
the people to abstain from their usual avocations, and to pray 
that the world might not be destroyed on account of the 
eclipse ; he also called my attention to what he said was a fact, 
that, since we had entered Bohemia, we had met neither car- 
riages nor carts. When I ventured to observe that we had, not 
long before, met a diligence and a malle poste, he seemed 
confused for a moment, but at length satisfied himself with 



102 ZWICKAU. [Chap. V. 

the assurance, that they might have been permitted to set 
out very early in the morning, and would be out of the 
kingdom before the eclipse took place. That a fraud was 
attempted on the peasants, in a parish very near Carlsbad, by 
certain priests, I know from most unimpeachable testimony; 
but I am not aware that the Government had any share in the 
proceeding. They said it was revealed to them, that the Almighty 
had determined to destroy the world, and that, although the 
Blessed Virgin had interceded, her mediation had not then 
been accepted, because the people had countenanced liberal 
opinions, and had not been obedient to the Emperor, — that, on 
the 28th, a great sign would appear on the sun, — and that, unless 
they abstained from work and came to church, and promised 
to do better, the light of the sun would certainly be extin- 
guished. This the peasants made known to a very energetic 
proprietor, io the parish, who employs many hands in various 
ways, as an excuse for their not appearing at work on the 28th. 
His indignation knew no bounds, and seizing his hat in one 
hand, and cap in another, he placed them both in the line of 
sight, and asked them if they could see both ? Upon their 
replying in the negative, he added, " Suppose the moon should 
come between the earth and the sun, could you see both ? " 
" No," said they. " Well, my friends, that is all that will 
happen on Monday." Accordingly, they returned quietly to 



Chap. V.] ZWICKAU. 103 

their work with him as usual ; and, of course, as the neces- 
sary consequence of all such pious frauds, the blame was 
laid upon the religion, and not on the system : thus faith 
is shaken, and the very foundations of order and morality 
sapped. A curious circumstance, of somewhat similar descrip- 
tion, happened about the same time not far from the same 
place. It appears that, amongst other means of raising a 
revenue, the Eomish ecclesiastics were in the habit of ringing 
the parish bells when a thunder-storm was approaching, in 
order to avert the threatened danger; and a certain fee was 
taken from each parishioner for the advantage of this spiritual 
insurance. This custom, during the short visit of liberal 
ideas in 1848, was forbidden, and still remains so; how- 
ever, this year it has reappeared, together with many other less 
harmless practices which at that period either disappeared or 
were suppressed : and, as the present year has been particu- 
larly fertile in electric accumulation, the bells were again 
put in request, arid a demand for the usual fee was made. 
By some it was submitted to ; but one man of some influence 
refused altogether to pay for that which he very truly 
averred was not legal. The demanders, however, thought 
themselves strong enough to succeed, and they therefore cited 
him to appear before the local magistrate, who decided against 
him ; not, as he said, that the claim was strictly legal, but 



104 ZWICKAU. [Chap. V. 

because the priests must live somehow, and he thought this 
an unobjectionable method of procuring an income. The 
Protestant Saxons have, probably ever since the days of John 
the Steadfast, and Ferdinand the Kegent, derided the Bohe- 
mians as a priest-ridden people — just as my driver did on the 
28th of July, 1851. And the Bohemians, in their turn, have 
been taught, and believe with much sincerity, that the Saxons 
have no religion at all. My friend on the box had no small 
opinion of himself, and a corresponding estimate of his neigh- 
bours, which he was at no pains to conceal. How far he may 
be taken as an organ of the opinion of his class, I am unable 
accurately to decide ; but he had somewhat the air of a pot- 
house oracle. 

We stopped at Neudeek, a picturesque little old town, 
ten miles from Carlsbad, our last halt; and there, at three 
o'clock, I was supplied with some pieces of smoked glass. It 
was very fine and warm ; and I had my luncheon set out on a 
table under the porte cocker e, overgrown with vines, that I 
might see the first symptoms of the shadowy contact. I was 
very soon gratified, for though not entirely clear, it was 
not more overcast than to enable indifferent sight to have 
a more enduring view of this grand fulfilment of our Creator's 
decree, that " the great lights in the firmament of the heavens 
should be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and for 



Chap. V.] ZWICKAU. 105 

years." And I could not help again thinking, that these 
(to the uninitiated) wonderful examples of the exactness of 
the astronomical calculations, evidently known to the earlier 
inhabitants of our globe, almost certainly to the Phoeni- 
cians and the Egyptians, then lost, now again found, and 
shining forth year by year more and more brightly, are indica- 
tions, added to multitudes of others, which may be seen in the 
present state of the world, that the day of its existence is upon 
the wane, and the period of its duration approaching ; six 
thousand years of turmoil and struggle, and then, maybe, one 
thousand years of rest. " Six days shalt thou labour, and do 
all that thou hast to do, but the seventh is the Sabbath of the 
Lord thy God." " A thousand years are with the Lord but as 
a day." " There remaineth, therefore, a rest to the people of 
God." 

I set forth again when about half the sun's disc was obscured, 
and stopped every five minutes to watch the progress of the 
event, and the varying lights upon the landscape. 

" Now fades the glimmering landscape on the sight, 
And all the air a solemn stillness holds, 
Save where the beetle wheels his droning flight, 
And drowsy tinklings lull the distant folds." 

The shadows were not quite so sombre as Gray's matchless 
poetry has painted them; but they seemed to have a very 
sobering effect upon the whole creation : men stood still and 



106 ZWICKAU. [Chap. V. 

watched ; the landscape did fade, though it did not vanish ; 
the animals evidently felt an unwonted magnetism, remaining 
in uneasy suspense, and a chilly feeling stole over the genial 
warmth of the afternoon. The ring round the edge of the 
moon seemed complete in about fifty minutes, and I thought 
the sun reappeared again in its entirety in a shorter time. I 
made Josef apply the glass to his eye assiduously, and he 
gave grunts of approbation from time to time ; but I am not 
altogether convinced that he made out what it was : at all 
events, as his poor ignorant, benighted neighbours, the Bohe- 
mians, saw a mystery in it, he was quite determined to treat it 
as an everyday occurrence. I felt rather relieved when it was 
all quite over, and I found myself descending to the Eger, with 
the embouchure of the Temple Valley in view. 

The fifty miles, with a pair of horses, were accomplished in 
about eleven hours, on a fine day without dust, and we trotted 
merrily into Carlsbad at half-past five, amongst a large popula- 
tion of sober walkers, all looking intent upon their several 
symptoms. I drove up to the door of the Schild, having made up 
my mind that I would lodge there if possible, as in 1840 it was 
the best house, and I guessed must have changed proprietors 
for the better since that epoch, the last time I had the pleasure 
of seeing it. In this, however, I was mistaken. It was quite 
full; but they gave me a room in another hotel, called 



Chap. V.] ZWICKAU. 107 

the Paradies, which belongs to the same people, though 
at some distance. Unwary strangers, who don't know this, 
sometimes fly for relief from one to the other, because they 
have an entirely separate staff; the husband being stationed 
at the latter, whilst the Frau is the acting director of the 
former, and predominant in both. I had on former occa- 
sions lived at The Prince of Prussia, which I did not 
like, and had had no experience of private lodgings, of 
which, however, I can now speak with perfect connaissance de 
cause, the behaviour of mine hosts of the above united con- 
cern having quickly put me to flight from their quarters. 
However, I accepted the proffered room at the Paradies for 
the night, found my old doctor, Dr. Meisner, bought a drink- 
ing cup, and took leave of my travelling companion Josef, 
whom I must not dismiss without saying that he turned out 
much better than I thought possible. He had his own un- 
couth ways, but he brought me as quickly as he well could — 
told me all the news he was able to think of — was perfectly 
satisfied with his thaler trinkgeld— three shillings for fifty miles 
is not a very extravagant reward — and when I added a few 
cigars, he was extremely grateful, so we shook hands, and 
wished each other a great deal of happiness. 



108 CARLSBAD. [Chap. VI. 



CHAPTER VI. 



CARLSBAD. 



I got up at five o'clock on Tuesday morning, and com- 
menced drinking from my old fountain, the Theresien Brunn. 
There appeared to me to be an immense number of people, com- 
pared with my former recollections, and some changes in the per- 
sonal appearance of two important springs had taken place. The 
Schloss Brunn had had an accident. In order to keep the 
Sprudel in full play, they are obliged to make borings periodi- 
cally, in order to prevent the passage from beneath being 
choked up by the rapid formations of the incrustation known 
by the name of the Sprudelstein. This operation was per- 
formed, as usual, last year, when all of a sudden the Schloss 
Brunn disappeared. As this source is remarkably popular with 
the natives, who constantly resort to it, being the coolest water, 
having an agreeable taste and supposed efficacy in many 
minor ailments, great was their discomfiture when the intelli- 
ligence was made known, and great their joy when, upon break- 



Chap. VI.] CARLSBAD. 109 

ing into the rock a little deeper, the fountain of health was 
again discovered, with only a trifling loss of temperature, which, 
however, as it contained an increased amount of carbonic acid 
gas, had a still more acceptable flavour. But what surprised me 
most was, that both this source and the Mtihl Brunn, which 
has always been extremely a-la-mode, and is now in the zenith 
of its popularity, were surrounded with barricades, open, indeed, 
at each end, but admitting of approach only by single file. 
Upon inquiring the reason of this unusual appearance, I was 
informed that the crowding round these wells of water had been 
so great at the commencement of this season, that it required the 
strength and gallantry of a Moses to enable the weaker sex to 
obtain a supply of the precious fluid ; and broken cups and torn 
dresses attested the vehemence of the assault upon this pool of 
Bethesda. In vain they rose at half-past three in the morning : 
long before the magical eighth goblet could be quaffed, the 
siege had recommenced, and the most happily-inaugurated 
cures threatened to end only in aggravation of the malady; — a 
mind free from care being an indispensable requisite, whereas, 
owing to corroding anxieties about the events of the mor- 
row, which these circumstances engendered, calmness and tran- 
quillity had fled. Certainly here was a dignus vindice nodus ; 
and happily a liberator appeared in the shape of Mr. Sep- 
pings, a gentleman connected with our Indian navy, who, 



110 CARLSBAD. [Chap. VI. 

having observed the unnecessary confusion, suggested to, 
and obtained from, the authorities the remedy which I have 
described, and which at once appeased the storm and checked 
the growing evil. The scene, however, was droll enough 
when first I saw it: the double file extended some hundred 
feet beyond the wooden barriers ; two policemen were stationed 
to see that no one cut in; one file passed on one side the 
source, and one on the other; four nymphs were incessantly 
employed in receiving the goblets and filling them, and ad- 
ministered, by my stop watch, upon the average, from 900 to 
1000 goblets per hour, from half-past four to eight o'clock. As, 
however, a quarter of an hour only must elapse between each 
potation, when the strain was the greatest the drinkers formed 
an endless chain — those who had drunk being compelled to 
march back, and replace themselves at the end of the tail, in 
order to arrive at the source again at the proper moment, 
really working hard for health. Having surveyed and com- 
prehended all these matters, and taken my stipulated amount of 
tepid water and walking, I repaired to the best of cafes, the 
Elephant, in the Wiese, where a delicious cup of chocolat 
sante, and the unrivalled breads of endless variety, which Carls- 
bad alone can produce, awaited me on a little table under the 
shade of the pollard chestnut. Then I repaired to my soi- 
disant Paradies, where they modestly asked three florins for 



Chap. VI.] CARLSBAD. Ill 

my room, and I politely declined acceding to the request. 
The Ober Kellner returned with a demand for 2/30, which I 
firmly but respectfully declined also, and sent my ultimatum 
an offer of two, indicating that I considered that about double 
the value received, and it was graciously accepted. This com- 
mencement gave me an unpleasant impression of my hosts, 
and I went to the room now prepared for me at the Schild, 
with the determination to have an understanding with the Frau, 
to whom I was addressed, before I committed myself. When I 
saw her I thought I had never seen a female less calculated to 
inspire confidence, and one whose countenance indicated un 
moins heureux naturel, slip-shod, untidily dressed, active 
and bustling, always smiling. This interview determined me 
not to surrender without at least attempting to find a 
private lodging. I found all the first floors, and most of 
the second, occupied ; and I had some difficulty in getting an 
apartment for less than a month ; but at last I succeeded with 
an old lady who owns the Hanseathisches Hanse, about the 
middle of the Alte Wiese, where I got a vestibule, bed-room, 
dressing-room, and drawing-room, very clean and very com- 
fortable, sixteen florins for a fortnight. They asked me two 
florins and a- half a day, or thirty- one for a fortnight, at the 
Schild, for a single room. It is true that my new apartment 
was au troisieme; but in this respect, for any one not lame or 



112 CARLSBAD. [Chap. VI. 

otherwise incapacitated, it is positively an advantage not to be 
too low. As I am now upon the subject of lodging at Carls- 
bad, and as it is a matter of some importance to those who may 
intend to visit it, I will give the result of my own experience. 
Avoid the hotels, one and all: they afford no advantage what- 
ever, and have many discomforts peculiar to themselves. In 
the first place, when it is hot at Carlsbad, which is not unfre- 
quently the case during the drinking season, it is apt to be 
very hot, and it is a great comfort to have the sun off your 
house by midday. Now, all the inns of note, except the Stadt 
Hanover, which, upon the whole, is perhaps the best, have no 
morning sun, but they have it upon them all the afternoon. 
Not one of the hotels is nearly as good as it might be ; the 
Schild has some excellent apartments in the three houses of 
which it is composed, and if it were as thoroughly well- 
managed, as it is the contrary, might, with its garden, be com- 
fortable enough ; but they have all in common the drawback 
of a suffocating smell of kitchen half the day, which, in 
almost all, is mixed up with an agreeable, pungent, and more 
enduring odour of stables and rotting straw usually confined in 
the back court, and which, ascending in warm steam, permeates 
the entire house : besides, they not only give forth the culinary 
odours of what is cooked for the benefit of their own special 
frequenters, but also of that (and it is no small portion) which 



Chap. VI.] CARLSBAD. 113 

is sent out to the lodging houses. The nicest of the separate 
houses is the King of England, above the Theresien Brunn 
gardens; and there are some agreeable houses in the Hirschen 
Sprung Gasse, which is a terrace looking as if it sat on the top 
of the houses in the Alte Wiese. They get the early morning 
sun and good air. In the Alte and Neue Wiese, which are the 
most fashionable, the air is certainly a little stagnant, with 
the river and two rows of thick, bushy, shady, horse-chestnuts 
bordering it on both sides; and the second or third floors are pre- 
ferable to the first, because you get better air and more walking, 
which is a very necessary part of the ceremony. Before a bar- 
gain is finally made, it is as well for the lovers of comfort and 
tranquillity to make sure that they are not engaging the house 
of some musician, where practising is constantly going on, or 
one of the very few private houses where dinners are cooked to 
be sent out. Once clear of that and the afternoon sun, and taking 
care that your house is not actually built into the rock so as to 
have no proper ventilation, you will find yourself accommodated 
in a scrupulously clean and comfortable abode, with every atten- 
tion in health or in sickness that you could possibly desire. They 
will make you a very good breakfast or tea at home, if you prefer 
having it in your room, or they will set your table out under 
the trees opposite your house. I almost always breakfasted at 
the Panorama, on account of the fine air, the pretty locale, 

i 



114 CARLSBAD. [Chap. VI. 

and the walk it gave me up the hill — then taking an easy 
book, or newspaper, and when the weather is fine, one is 
quite lost in the beauty and ayrement of the place. If, how- 
ever, you are gourmand about your coffee and chocolate, they 
can only be had in perfection at the Elephant, from whence, 
from eight o'clock in the morning till eight in the evening, they 
flow in perpetual fountains, and gratify the palates of fresh 
successions of visitors. It is wonderful to what a degree of 
perfection they have carried their attention to the feelings of 
their guests at Carlsbad, and it must be owing to some very 
outrageous misconduct if you experience, I won't say incivility, 
but the slighest approach to it. If you go to a cafe, not only 
are you not compelled to eat of their bread, but not even to drink 
of their drink, for you may buy your own bread, and bring it 
with you and have your own coffee, tea, or cocoa, made up for 
you there, almost without charge, and you may sit down and 
occupy a little table, and have nothing but a glass of water, 
and read the newspaper and sit as long as you please, without 
receiving an impatient glance. You may come and go, pay 
or not at the time, have as little or as much as you think 
proper, and you will never be disturbed. The result, of course, 
of this, as of all thoroughly good-humoured civility, from 
whatever motive it may proceed, is, that nine-tenths of the 
comers spend a great deal more than they otherwise would. 




The Elephant Coffee Hous 



Scr page 114. 



Chap. VI.] CARLSBAD. 115 

The Carlsbad bread deserves a chapter by itself ; most people, 
during their morning potations, purchase their provision for 
breakfast, and the varieties of shape and composition give 
great scope to this harmless exercise of gastronomy. 

The Germans are not generally very enterprising, as far, at 
least, as a traveller sees of them ; not because they are natu- 
rally deficient in spirit and activity, I am inclined to think — 
witness what a German waiter will do — but they are cramped 
by their paternal government; and that energy which, by wise 
institutions, should be fostered and guided, is here hopelessly 
discouraged. However, in the article of bread at this watering 
place, they have shown no disposition to be satisfied with any- 
thing short of perfection. Bohemia and Austria Proper not 
producing sufficiently excellent materials, they have their flour 
from the Bannat of Temeswar, some 1000 miles off, and their 
yeast twice a week from Vienna. The varieties of the staff of 
life are here endless, though they certainly appear in a some- 
what fragile shape, and if any one were to lean upon the 
so-called stange or bar of bread for support, it would treat 
him very much after the fashion of Pharaoh King of Egypt. 
There are endless diminutive appellations of endearment given 
to these little idols. The following are, however, the prin- 
cipal designations: first, the Semeln, which is the common 
round roll, and which is either quite plain, or has in it a little 

I 2 



11G CARLSBAD. [Chap. VI. 

milk. Those who like to have a reason for a name will be 
gratified to learn that it is so called from the Latin semel, once 
baked; in contradistinction to the Bis-cotto or Zwieback (the 
rusk or biscuit), twice baked. Next comes the Kipfl, or 
Hornl, so designated from its crescent shape, which is nearly 
as universal in Germany as the Semeln, and is the invariable 
native accompaniment of the morning's coffee. Then the 
Stange, which is a very crisp finger, about a foot long, and 
has a little butter added to the flour and milk. Following in 
the wake of this, but a step nearer pastry, is the Stritzel ; it is 
extremely good, but unlike the Stange, twisted in the shape of 
a true lover's knot. Then the Zwieback, before described, of 
which the most recherche is that made at Presburgh, which 
has a European reputation, cannot be made elsewhere, and is 
to be found in all distinguished watering places. It is a rusk 
encrusted with a mixture of almonds and sugar, very light; 
they dip it here in their chocolate and coffee, and esteem it a 
great delicacy ; it is to be found, chez nous, in that great exhi- 
bition of all nations, called Fortnum and Mason's; but 
it is somewhat too sweet for the generality of British palates. 
The Oblaten are, however, the pride of Carlsbad; they are 
attractive -looking wafers, or rather double wafers, quite flat, 
about five inches in diameter, impressed with a mediaeval 
pattern, and inclosing sugar, crisp and crackling, with a slight 



Chap. VI.] CARLSBAD. 117 

taste of vanille ; they are not usually eaten till after dinner. 
So far you are within the magic medical circle. Outside the 
sacred precincts there are such things as Kugellhopf, a species 
of Baba, and Bohmische kolatchen, a local luxury, made of 
heavier materials, sometimes a little cheese finding its way into 
it; excellent in their way, but not to be thought of by the 
docile water-drinker; the latter he must not approach till he 
has left off drinking six weeks. 

The Germans are everywhere celebrated for their farina- 
ceous mixtures, bread, pudding, and confectionary ; and these 
are the names which are current at this celebrated water- 
ing place. Now where there are so many tempting bakers' 
shops (and every one has a favourite), it may seem invidious 
to particularize. However, having had considerable experience, 
and knowing how much the English taste leans to the Wasser- 
brod, i. e., simple flour and water, I have no hesitation in 
giving the preference to a somewhat out-of-the-way unassum- 
ing-looking shop, sign of the Golden Bell, just above the Three 
Pheasants' Inn. It really melts in one's mouth, and for some 
time I could hardly persuade myself that it was quite pure. 
Maders Schweitzer Backerey, just over the bridge, gives the best 
Kipfls and Stritzles ; and the Goldene Knone, Alte Wiese, the 
best Stanges andFleckten, a plainer sort of double Stange — two 
twisted together — they are remarkably good ; I can recommend 



118 CARLSBAD. [Chap. VI. 

them. Besides all the foregoing, there is another composition 
which some people cannot breakfast without, which are Kipfls and 
a Stange, which goes at the Krone by the name of the Kleistliche 
Stange, because it was invented by Countess Kleist, both covered 
with rock salt and cummin seed. It seems a strange mixture, and 
I could hardly induce myself to taste it; I, however, did so, and 
was conquered at on ce ; it is reckoned very wholesome. Last, but 
not least, comes the Roggen brod, or rye bread, the joy and 
delight of all true Germans, and which I would fain enjoy too, 
but it is the bane of weak digestions. The natives would 
rather have a piece of good rye bread and butter than the 
choicest sweet cakes you can offer them. I was surprised to find 
that it was not very cheap at Carlsbad ; it cost a trifle more 
than one penny a pound, and you may get good wheaten bread in 
Bristol for the same price. They do make a sort of brown 
bread, of which the large proportion is wheaten meal, but it is not 
popular. It is difficult to ascertain the exact value, by weight, 
of the finest white rolls ; you get five for twopence ; these may 
weigh a pound and a quarter, which would make the four-pound 
loaf about sixpence halfpenny. The natives rarely eat above 
two with their breakfast, in the face of a dinner between twelve 
and two o'clock. From the number of bakers' shops one meets 
with in Carlsbad, one should be tempted to suppose that people 
lived on bread alone ; and indeed there is some truth in the 



Chap. V] 
SUDDOS 



Chap. VI.] CARLSBAD. 119 

supposition ; the quantity of meat consumed per head amongst 
the population must be exceedingly trifling. I forget the num- 
ber of souls mentioned in Dr. De Cairo's Almanack, strangers 
included, but it exceeds 5000, and the shambles are so small 
that one has some difficulty in discovering them ; in fact, the 
elements for the dinners are of the most moderate order. Beef, 
mutton, and veal such as this, would be, in the classical lan- 
guage of that animal paradise in the heart of the City called 
Smithfield, of a very slow demand. The poultry is impossible ; 
the vegetables neither numerous nor excellent of their sort; 
hares and partridges, when they are to be got, are as good as 
elsewhere; and Hase mit schmetten sauce is a delicacy. You 
can generally get a good soup and a good Mehlspiese ; and if 
you don't dine too late, or if you take the trouble to order it 
beforehand, you can get an eatable bit of beef or mutton. 

At the Panorama, the Kursaal, and some of the hotels, if 
you give them a day or two's notice, you can have something 
better; but all such festins are to be avoided by the prudent 
water drinker : indeed, at the inns, the hosts are in dread of the 
doctors, and will neither give you mustard, nor vinegar, nor 
salad, however much you may insist upon your right to do what 
you will with what your money will buy. One discovers some 
ludicrous inconsistencies in the regime de rigueur, such, for 
instance, as tins: because they are little accustomed to eat cold 



120 



CARLSBAD. 



[Chap. VI. 



butter at breakfast and tea as we do, it is forbidden ; but you 
are permitted to partake at dinner of their cookery, all of 
which is swimming in bad melted and fried butter, which to 
English apprehensions is really unwholesome. There can be 
no doubt that the plainer you live whilst under the influence of 
this powerful water the better; and the more we islanders can 
bend our stubborn selves into conformity to the hours here, the 
better shall we be able to get on afterwards with our own. Get 
up at half-past five at latest; make the indispensable commence- 
ment of an Englishman's toilet; wrap yourself up warm; 
dispose of your eight glasses, more or less, between six and 
eight; don't force yourself to drink more than you comfortably 
can — nature will direct you ; dawdle about, or walk for half an 
hour before you come home after the last glass ; then return 
home and finish dressing, which will rest you if at all tired; 
try and get to breakfast at nine. The quantity of water that 
has been swallowed, with most people, prevents a very ravenous 
appetite, but the amount of it will again be your truest guide 
as to quantity; don't hear of any nonsense about abstaining 
from tea, coffee, chocolate, or butter; the golden rule is, never 
touch anything about which you are doubtful at other times, 
but continue what you know agrees with you. Breakfast 
out of doors if you possibly can, and stay out ; try and forget 
there is such a thing as business, or a penny post. Wander 



Chap. VI.] CARLSBAD. 121 

about the shady woods, dine at two, sit afterwards; saunter 
out to one of the thousand ginguettes that are more or less 
distant from the town about six o'clock, there you will be 
soothed by music, a cup of chocolate, and oblaten. Try and 
abstain from eating again afterwards, and you will find a very 
comfortable sleep stealing over you about half-past nine. 
Fight manfully against sleep in the day time, you will have one 
or two hard struggles with the enemy ; shake yourself and rush 
out, and afterwards he is vanquished. 

It is incredible the number of doctors there are ; everybody 
I spoke to seemed to have a different one ; and it is the more 
remarkable, as the profits hardly seem worth the competition, 
and, in many cases, they cannot defray the expenses of the 
journey and sojourn. I see it stated in the guide books of the 
place, which appear to have authority, that the ordinary fee for 
the four or five weeks of the cure, is from ten to twenty-four 
florins, in other words, from a napoleon to two guineas ; to be 
sure, the advice is usually given during the mornings' walk, 
and no great expenditure is needed in carriages, horses, and 
gold-headed canes ; but there is some difference between that 
and the English tariff. Think what terror such a proposition 
would spread in Saville Row. What a pity it is we cannot 
have a little Free Trade in these matters, a sort of Medical 
County Court. Many of these gentlemen who practise thus 



122 CARLSBAD. [Chap. VI. 

at Carlsbad are men of instruction and attainments ; but the 
proverb " Quot homines, tot sententiae," holds quite as good 
here as elsewhere: some aver that great discrimination is 
necessary in the choice of the proper spring ; others, that as 
the analysis gives to all the same ingredients, with very tri- 
fling exceptions, the temperature at which they come forth 
from the earth, and at which they are swallowed, makes no 
difference; my own experience contradicts the latter opinion. 
Some, again, think it absolutely necessary, in order to pro- 
duce a proper effect, that the waters should have a drastic 
effect ; others, that this particular consequence, though gene- 
rally present, is very far from being a sine qua non ; and 
they produce many cases where, after a while, great benefits 
have resulted from drinking these waters, although at the time 
they have had even a contrary effect. And thus there is always 
something to buoy up the patient's spirits : if he improves in 
health whilst under the operation of drinking, the conclusion is 
manifest; if he feels very unwell and dejected, it is a sign the 
waters are taking effect ; if the symptoms for which he is pay- 
ing his devoirs at Carlsbad manifest no perceptible alteration, 
then the good is to come on return home. Few pass through 
their course without experiencing reminiscences of most of the 
ills they have suffered from in former life, and some periods of 
nervous depression and weakness ; but many do not lose flesh. 



Chap. VI.] CARLSBAD. 123 

Some have an intense appetite, and it is beyond all question 
that hundreds depart yearly in a wonderfully improved state of 
health. It is, probably, the most potent medical agent of all the 
German waters, and it is hardly safe for dilletante invalids like 
myself to go there, for half the faces one sees look so thoroughly 
uncomfortable that it is enough to make one ill if one were 
not so before. Everybody looks into everybody's physiognomy, 
every morning at Carlsbad; the sickly ones become the most 
familiar, and, in spite of all determinations to the contrary, 
one's eyes will everlastingly wander to them during the morn- 
ing's march. 

I never was much more astonished at anything than at the 
circulating medium here, — a surprise which was not lessened 
when I was assured that, curious as it was, they had just 
emerged from a state of things still more unheard of. When I 
presented my metal thaler to pay for something, I was offered 
in change a little bundle of most inconceivable-looking dirty 
shreds of paper : the only thing I can liken them to, are the 
toll tickets one sees in a waggoner's hat after an accidental 
sojourn there of two or three days. Upon my manifesting some 
repugnance to this proposed exchange of silver for filthy rags, 
the bookseller, at whose shop I happened to be, told me, 
that about two years ago, when the financial difficulties of 
Austria were at their culminating point, they resorted to an 



124 CARLSBAD. [Chap. VI. 

issue of vast quantities of paper redeemable upon future con- 
tingencies. The precious metals at once vanished. The people, 
recollecting the events at the termination of the great war in 
1815, when the Government compelled the payment of taxes 
in the silver florin, value two shillings, whilst it issued a paper 
florin, nominally the same value, but really not worth more 
than tenpence, were very shy of accepting the new offer. So 
they hit upon a succedaneum in the shape of private paper : 
each shopkeeper issued notes, promising to pay at sight a cer- 
tain amount of bread, or meat, or cloth, or silk, as the case 
might be. This was carried on to an incredible extent, and 
was, I was assured, for some time, the only alternative to a 
state of absolute barter. Some rather ludicrous scenes took 
place with foreigners coming to Carlsbad, who were not 
altogether satisfied w T ith the offer of this species of change 
in return for their sovereigns and napoleons. One traveller, 
already sufficiently discontented with the ragged scraps which 
the exigencies of life had compelled him to accept, went 
to a second or third-rate inn, and having got something 
to eat, presented one of these bons for payment; whereupon, 
as it represented a higher value than the soup and Kind- 
fleish he had consumed, being some shoemaker's acceptance 
for a pair of shoes, certain papers were tendered in ex- 
change, of so novel a cut and colour, that with disdain he 



Chap. VI.] CARLSBAD. 125 

rejected them, scornfully inquiring who was to be responsible 
to him for the fulfilment of such promissory note. With equal 
haughtiness the tenderer replied, "I, to be sure ! M "And pray, 
sir, who may you be ?" " Why, the head waiter of the Three 
Periwinkles, to be sure," with an obeisance of offended 
dignity. There was no other means of carrying on the daily 
affairs of life, and so irritability was useless ; but the losses 
incident to such a state of things, when even the waiters enjoyed 
the hitherto royal privilege of mint, can easily be imagined. I 
have already said the precious metals disappeared; and the con- 
trivances to which they had recourse under the circumstances, 
demonstrates how very much necessity is the mother of inven- 
tion. One process combines so much simplicity and originality 
that it is worthy of mention. The florin is composed of sixty 
kreuzers; the notes issued by the Government are for ten 
kreuzers and six kreuzers ; but as by far the largest number of 
daily transactions fall below the lowest sum issued, namely, 
the six-kreuzer note, the question arose how to obtain the 
smaller change. They wisely cut the knot that they could not 
solve. At each corner a number was printed, indicating the 
value ; so when a purchase of three kreuzers was to be made, 
the note was cut in half; when smaller still, the fragment was 
again subject to the requisite process of diminution. It may 
easily be supposed what the Government Bank gains by the 



126 CARLSBAD. [Chap. VI. 

enormous percentage of this flimsy stuff, which is worn out, 
overlooked, or destroyed, and the consequent loss to private 
individuals, especially the poorest class. The people are to a 
farther extent sufferers, on account of the fall of the Austrian 
credit. There is now a fair sprinkling of copper, but during 
the course of the six weeks I was in Bohemia, I did not meet 
with a single piece of silver in the ordinary transactions of 
life. The so-called Austrian silver florin is properly worth 
two shillings; it is now only worth one shilling and eight- 
pence. Prices remain almost unchanged, so the shopkeeper, 
if he has dealings with the foreigner for the supply of his 
goods, is a loser to the extent of near twenty per cent. One 
wonders how they manage to bear all this with so little open 
murmuring. Quietness and good nature seem part of the 
Austrian character, and combined with it there is a frankness 
and simplicity in their manners which renders them to my 
mind very engaging; and as self-interest is, perhaps, still more 
favourable to the development of these qualities, they shine 
forth here in their full lustre. 

Carlsbad has been called, and with some truth, an immense 
hospital, with free trade in medical advice. The quietness of 
the place is extraordinary, although the traffic through it 
during the season is to such an extent, that I have seen 
several times six, and sometimes even seven diligences, and 






Chap. VI.] CARLSBAD. 127 

extra post-waggons, standing together changing horses in the 
market-place. During the hours of drinking, however, these 
vehicles are compelled to go hy back streets, and even after- 
wards they are not permitted to pass through otherwise than at 
a slow pace, and the post-horn cannot be blown in the town. 
I never heard a dog yelp, or a child scream, or any painful 
sound from any quarter ; and what is still more extraordinary, 
though I always leant an attentive ear, I never heard a boy 
whistle or sing, though I have several times seen them come out 
of school. Whether it is the effect of the Sprudel vapour, or 
whether the police order them off, I can't say, but the carol 
of a bird is never heard ; indeed, they are very rarely to be met 
with in the woods which surround the town. Yet, with all 
this, no one can say Carlsbad has a dull air; on the contrary, 
the outdoors' life and locomotion required, the constant ebb 
and flow of the visitors, fill the streets at all hours, and gives 
it at times the appearance of a fair. Go where you will in the 
afternoon, you will see parties of all ages and sizes sitting at 
little tables under shady trees or booths, sipping their choco- 
late and conversing. Then sounds, sometimes though not 
always of sweet music, float upon the air; at one time the 
inspiring chords of Labitzky's unrivalled capelle, sometimes the 
wilder notes of the Styrian and Tyrolese airs — voice, harp, and 
guitar. 



128 CARLSBAD. [Chap. VI. 

The Bohemian harp is a most unsophisticated instrument, 
made at a village called Preisnitz, not far off, for about two 
guineas ; it has six octaves, and the semitones are produced by 
the pressure of a little brass hook which turns on a screw in 
the top. Two of these harps, with a guitar, flute, and violin, 
more or less, compose the usual tea-garden bands; and so 
correct is the national ear in this land of harmony, that you 
will rarely hear a note out of time, even if it does not give you 
an inclination to dance, greater or less, according to your age 
and nerves. There is no rose without its thorns ; and as the 
windows are all open, and music the rage, hopeless attempts to 
conquer Thalberg's newest fantasia, and to rise to the heights 
of " Eobert! Eobert! grace pour toi et moi," induce one occa- 
sionally devoutly to join in that lofty aspiration. I was myself 
rather unfortunately situated in one respect, being directly 
opposite the theatre; for though the stream was between us, the 
roof of the playhouse was of so slight a material that the re- 
hearsals of the operas (not quite of the best when the evening 
came) at times sent forth strains resembling a discordant shout, 
the seven male and seven female choristers having failed 
in a sensation chorus. The opera, however, is really not so 
very bad as might be expected, assisted by Labitsky's or- 
chestra; and the comedy is very respectably given. The 
singers and actors have, besides, this great and evident merit — 



Chap. VI.] CARLSBAD. 129 

the having learned to live upon air. The pit costs tenpence, 
the stalls sixteenpence, the boxes three shillings and six- 
pence, and the theatre is never more than half full; still it 
continues during the season, beginning at five and terminating 
at eight, and, strange to say, the corps does not die of starva- 
tion. Unquestionably the expenses of existence are not very 
onerous. My breakfast, as I chose to be so extravagant as to 
go out to the coffee-house, and to give the waitress a penny, cost 
me sixpence halfpenny, and my dinner one shilling and nine- 
pence, lodging one shilling and eightpence, attendance six- 
pence a day. But then I was generous and lavish. The 
shops afford attractions. The Bohemian garnets are celebrated, 
and are set not without some taste, and in great variety. Other 
jewellery there is besides, of different descriptions, excellent 
imitations of rococo, lace of various patterns, made up for 
ladies' toilettes, and very pretty things in inlaid woods, at prices 
quite incomprehensible to those who are accustomed to deal in 
the privileged streets of London. Mader, the watchmaker, de- 
serves an European reputation. There is also an immense show 
of very ingeniously-contrived cutlery, which is in great vogue 
amongst the natives, and is well known by its blue-coloured 
handles ; it is almost as cheap, but not nearly so good, as our 
own Sheffield. There are shops for the wares of the several 
porcelain manufacturers in the neighbourhood ; the articles 



130 CARLSBAD. [Chap. VI. 

exhibited show progress, and there is a certain originality 
about their shapes and colours that is highly praiseworthy. 
The glaring defect is, an overcharge both of gilding and paint- 
ing; but, as the eyes of their customers get better educated, 
this will give place to a simpler and a purer taste ; and there is 
something pleasant in remarking the absence of a servile imi- 
tation of Sevres and Dresden, which is elsewhere so universal 
as to become fatiguing. The flower and fruit painting is 
improving much ; and they have all their materials here so 
close at hand in the valley of the Eger, with new coal-pits 
daily discovering themselves, that, if not interfered with bureau- 
cratically, this manufacture promises to be a great source of 
wealth to the country. The coal which is the cheapest, and 
most in use here, is not black, but of a bister colour, and is 
called brown coal : it does not dirty the fingers, and it has an 
agreeable appearance; but it is not good, and it dirties the 
chimneys, giving out a dense brown smoke. The black coal is 
infinitely preferred. I am told that it is supposed to be an 
imperfect formation left by nature in a transition state. It is 
very cheap, and used by all the cooks in Carlsbad ; and if by 
its smoke it does not enhance the beauty of the landscape, let 
us hope that it may do so in another way, by keeping the axe 
out of the woods which clothe the neighbouring hills, and lend 
such a charm to the view on all sides. The walks and drives 



Chap. VI.] CARLSBAD. 131 

about Carlsbad are endless, shady, dry, and remarkably well 
kept by means of a small tax levied upon each visitor, and for 
which he is abundantly repaid. 

At Carlsbad they have a peculiar method of assessing a 
tax upon a certain portion, and that no inconsiderable one, 
of the incomes of the inhabitants, letting lodgings being 
the grand source of revenue. Each owner of a house is 
obliged, by a regulation which has both a police and a fiscal 
object, to fill up a paper upon the arrival of his lodger, stating 
his name, quality, and the date of his entrance into the house ; 
and upon his departure, a duplicate of this form must be sent 
to the office in order to obtain the passport. Thus the officials 
ascertain exactly how many lodgers each owner has had, the 
length of their stay, and the floors they have occupied, and 
can, therefore, form a pretty good guess as to the rent that 
has been paid. When the season is over the owner is sum- 
moned to the bureau, and then commences a great deal of 
fencing between the assessor and his victim, as to the real gains 
made ; the one endeavouring to increase, the other to decrease, 
the sum to be accounted for as much as possible. When, at 
last, it is settled, the Government takes no less than twenty 
per cent., or one-fifth of the whole ; which is further increased 
to the tax-payer by a very strange regulation, compelling him 
to defray the postage of the official documents, from the village 

K 2 



182 CARLSBAD. [Chap. VI. 

to the chief town of the circle, thence to the head-office in the 
capital of the province for a final overhauling, and then back 
again, to be registered as confirmed in each of those places; 
and he may think himself fortunate if some error or other, of 
which he is wholly guiltless, has not taken it round by Vienna. 
Such is their mania for registration. I have been told that, as 
a system, their official account- keeping is well contrived, and 
would work well did they not carry it to such an absurd extreme. 
Hammer, Aich, Hans Heiling, Engelhouse, Elbogen, Hau- 
enstein, Guisubl, and Dalwitz, are attractive objects for a prome- 
nade ; but, somehow, the day is gone before there is time to 
think about them. Charming panoramas are to be seen from 
the Aberg and Orientirung's Hohe, especially the latter. 
Perhaps the most delightful view about the place is from the 
gardens of the Helenen Hof, which, this year, was the gayest 
of the gay, in consequence of its being occupied by a distin- 
guished individual, who gave several hut too brilliant entertain- 
ments, whose first wish appeared to be, to make others happy, 
whom no mischance affected, and who on his departure car- 
ried away all hearts in the place. The only objection I have to 
make to him is, that he was in too strong health to need the 
cure, and that the entertainments were of a nature to place 
duty to the severe requirements of the locality, and inclination 
to amusement and indulgence, in perpetual conflict. Poor 




The two Ladies of Carisbad. 



See parte 133. 



Chap. VI.] CARLSBAD. 133 

humanity ought not to be so exposed to such severe trials. 
He has much to answer for ; and I believe the faculty, terrified 
for the hitherto unsullied reputation of the place, meditated a 
combined remonstrance against such Un-kur-massig doings. 

Carlsbad is a Babel as to nations and languages, as every 
one knows ; and people come and go, and compare disorders, 
and make intimate acquaintances which are proverbial for the 
shortness of their duration; but all that, makes such society as 
may suit one's fancy ; as light as a native Mehlspeise, there is 
no future in it — all is present — all is ephemeral. There is hardly 
food for scandal in a hospital, though there are some persons 
who come here for a sort of gay season; and such a thing 
as a matrimonial alliance, though very rare, has been known to 
originate in this otherwise anti-hymeneal soil. These comers 
are chiefly such as winter in Dresden, Cracow, Warsaw, and 
Prague, who get some insight into a different world from con- 
tact with the strangers from its various parts. They gossip 
over the coffee-table, and are extremely anxious to know who 
is who. 

There are two never- failing yearly visitors to Carlsbad, who 
may now be considered as much a part of the place as the two 
celebrated ladies were an integral portion of the enchanting 
environs of Llangollen; and, indeed, except that those were 
sisters by association, love, and affection, and these by the tie 



134 CARLSBAD. [Chap. VI. 

of nature, there is a good deal of resemblance between 
them — with one point of striking difference. The similitude 
consists in a costume wholly unlike that of those about them, 
and in a complete knowledge of everything, and everybody — 
birth, parentage, and education ; the dissimilarity, in a contempt 
for personal appearance in the two ladies of Carlsbad, 
whilst their Welsh prototypes were as remarkable for the 
scrupulousness of their half-antique costumes. The resem- 
blance also holds good in a strong desire to please, and in the 
complete absence of even the smallest unkind expression when 
speaking of others. They are always to be found amongst the 
Elephantine shades during the day-time, whatever the weather 
may be, with coffee, or work, or newspapers ; and in the evening, 
at their own house, ready to accept or communicate informa- 
tion ; and any one who has the good fortune to do so will have 
reason to congratulate himself upon having made an acquaint- 
ance, of which the originality of first appearances would probably 
not have enabled him at once to comprehend the intrinsic value. 
One of these two ladies is a great invalid; and the never- 
failing devotion of her sister towards her is a touching example 
to all who witness it. The freedom with which every one talks 
politics is very striking ; and the moment of my visit was one 
which gave infinite occasion for remarks of this nature. I 
mentioned before the sort of feeling that I found existing in 



Chap. VI.] CARLSBAD. 135 

Hamburgh, amongst the common people, towards the Aus- 
trians. I had not been long in Carlsbad before I found that 
there was no love lost between them and the Prussians. I 
made some trivial inquiries of the waitress of one of the 
popular guinguettes, as she gave me my breakfast; and as 
these ladies are never unwilling to gossip, she proceeded to 
inform me of the inexpressibly shabby conduct of a party 
who had had some coffee for which they had not paid, on 
some pretence or other, and (singularly rare occurrence) had 
never returned to make good their omission. Upon asking 
who they could be, she said they were either Jews or Prussians, 
she could not be certain which, but most probably the latter. 

Nothing can be more lamentable than to hear the language 
of the Germans when speculating upon the future destinies 
of their country. They seem to have lost all confidence, not in 
their rulers alone, for at that one should hardly be surprised ; 
but, what is far worse, in their country's fortunes. One and 
all declare that there is no real religion in Germany; and 
though at first I could hardly bring myself to credit it, I have 
now come to the conclusion that it is no exaggeration of the 
fact. Frederick the Great and his system* have fairly up- 

* The system of Frederick the Great, in a civil point of view, is admirable ; human 
ingenuity could scarcely have devised a better, and, with its subsequent improve- 
ments, has tended to give Prussia the remarkable stability which she has lately 
manifested, in spite of the anti-cohesive nature of her dominions. And the excellent 



136 CARLSBAD. [Chap. VI. 

rooted it in North Germany, and indeed the truth compels 
me to declare, that Protestant Germany is almost without a 
creed. The Church service is never thought of on a week-day, 
never twice on a Sunday; and in Dresden and other places 
I believe the habit amongst the upper classes, is to go 
about once a month. If you express your surprise at this 
habitual absence from God's house, they will tell you that 
by going too often it loses its effect. In regard to the 
working classes, I have no data; but there are certain indica- 
tions that would tend to show that the expectation of such 
observances on their part must be limited indeed. In the first 
place, their opportunities and means of attendance are in a 
smaller ratio ; then they work a good deal on a Sunday; then 
they have adult Sunday-schools, where the subject of religion 
is never introduced, and where reading, writing, arithmetic, 
trades, and design are taught, not unfrequently under muni- 
cipal authority. Then the training-schools for masters are not 
arranged as ours are, where the art of communicating knowledge 
is the principal thing taught, and that mainly of a religious 
tendency, by means of the young school attached ; but, during 

state of her finances, after the recent storm, will demonstrate this even to the 
superficial observer. But if you attempt, what Frederick did, to substitute official 
accuracy and a well-devised system of checks and supervision for religious prin- 
ciple, instead of grafting it upon it, you build upon an inverted cone; and, though 
it may apparently flourish for a time, it will eventually collapse, for it is founded 
on the sand. 



Chap. VI.] CARLSBAD. 137 

the three years of exacted attendance, they are crammed, and 
often successfully (for the German intellect is a very powerful 
one), with a great variety of learning. The faith, however, of 
Christ crucified for our offences, and risen again for our justifi- 
cation, is not only never taught, but the poisonous doctrines of 
Hegel, Bauer, and Strauss are openly inculcated. Not the school- 
masters only, but the clergy also are, I am assured — and by the 
Protestants themselves — deeply tinctured with these blasphe- 
mous opinions. The sowers then go forth to sow their seed, 
and the fruits, in due time (not quite so rapidly, though perfectly 
similar to those of the Theban plough), spring up. Wurtem- 
burg and Baden prided themselves upon the perfection to which 
they had brought their schools and their scholars. Every one, 
under pain of fine, was compelled to make his child drink, 
for six years, of this fountain. The inspectors, with truth, 
reported that their progress in learning was considerable, and 
the most accurate and satisfactory statistics were duly registered 
and depc sited in the archives of the respective Governments; 
and yet, in 1848, in these two German principalities, where 
one should have expected the greatest resistance to the wild 
and revolutionary outbreak of that period, the most complete 
disorder prevailed, and it appears to have been then, for the first 
time, discovered, that every village and every hamlet was impreg- 
nated with blasphemy and sedition. Politically, and socially, 



3 38 CARLSBAD. [Chap. VI. 

they were without excuse ; every feudal service had heen abolished, 
and the workman and peasant proprietor was protected by the 
laws, and comfortable in circumstances, far beyond nineteen- 
twentieths of the same class in the rest of civilized Europe. 
Socialism, communism — every fantastic and deceitful notion 
that the arch enemy of our race can suggest — grows in rank 
luxuriance throughout a great part of Protestant Germany. 

The Catholic portion of its inhabitants, and especially the 
Austrian and some of the Bavarian provinces, are, in this respect, 
better; they have some kind of religious faith — some little at- 
tachment to law and order. The school children assemble at 
seven o'clock in the morning till nine, when they attend service 
for half an hour, and frequently join in singing with the 
organ : there are set times for dogmatic teaching by the parish 
priests ; to be sure, as I have already described, in the neigh- 
bourhood of Carlsbad it is not of a very elevating description, 
and the fables inculcated are often so transparent, that even 
quite the commoner sort see through them; the result is, 
extensive infidelity. In the middle class this is even more the 
case ; still, some have sufficient discrimination to see the blessed 
doctrine of the atonement shining, like the polar star, through 
all the dross and impurity of patristic tradition, and have some- 
thing still to cling to, with which to make human life compre- 
hensible and tolerable. Therefore, in Catholic Germany, there 



Chap. VI.] CARLSBAD. 139 

is yet, in the bulk of the people, some small holding- ground for 
the anchor of hope. When, however, in addition to all these fer- 
menting elements of trouble and confusion, one adds the feeling 
generated by the political events of the last three years, one can 
hardly be surprised at the desponding and bitter view taken of 
the future by the inhabitants of this remarkable country. The 
unanimity of dissatisfaction is by no means so astonishing as 
the freedom and strength of language with which it is expressed. 
The epithets applied by his own subjects to the King of Prussia 
are enough to make one's ears tingle. Amongst other things, 
the inexcusable calling out of the Landwehr, last winter, 
added to total retrogression in all liberal policy, seems to have 
filled the cup of Prussian grievance to overflowing. They said, 
" had the case arisen when it had become necessary to do battle 
for our national independence, under the guidance of a wise, 
liberal, and consistent Sovereign, there is nothing to which we 
would not cheerfully have submitted ; but to have all this in- 
tense loss and inconvenience created for the sake of warding off 
the consequences of royal and diplomatic duplicity, is perfectly 
intolerable." I heard several instances of the suffering caused 
by this calling out of the Landwehr; and, amongst the rest, a 
lady of high degree herself narrated to me her own case. Just 
as her only daughter died, her husband and every one of her 
male servants, except one, who was a foreigner, were called 



140 CARLSBAD. [Chap. VI. 

away. The mournful obsequies were not yet completed, before, 
at less than twelve hours' notice, she was ordered to receive and 
provide for twelve officers and eighty soldiers in her house. 

I have no accurate idea whether the young Emperor Franz 
Joseph is popular or otherwise with his subjects. On the lGth 
there was a special ball at the Kursaal in honour of his birthday, 
which falls either on that day or the day after, and a coloured 
print, of some dimensions — a species of art in which they are great 
adepts here, giving to the counterfeit all the air of an oil picture 
— was put up, encircled with laurels. It appears that upon such 
occasions it is the custom for the officers who happen to be present 
to arrange themselves on each side the portrait, and to com- 
mence the festivities of the evening by singing the National 
Anthem. Except it is intended to emblematise and give signi- 
ficance to the Teutonic love of arms, it does not seem quite 
evident why the military only should be put forward; and some 
of them told me it had a thoroughly flat and unsatisfactory 
effect, having the appearance of carrying out an order from 
head-quarters, instead of being the result of spontaneous 
enthusiasm, the only valuable sentiment at such times. The 
town was well illuminated at the expense of the municipality 
on the following day, and one device had a magnificent effect — 
a great double-headed imperially- crowned eagle, erected upon 
a scaffolding on the cliffs immediately above the town. The 



Chap. VI.] CARLSBAD. 141 

various crosses on the heights were also well traced out in 
light, and completed a very pretty ensemble. The town was 
thronged with country people from miles round, and it would 
be curious to know the nature of their thoughts. The 
Austrians are a gay, laughter-loving people, in their holiday 
attire. They thoroughly enter into an amusement, and delight 
in the dance and song. Just at this moment the ordinances, 
abrogating the Constitution, were promulgated. There is 
no doubt that, as originally settled, with Austria's compli- 
cated empire, that constitution never could have worked. 
Still the abrupt and despotic manner in which it was annulled, 
coupled with the events which had preceded it in Cassel, 
Berlin, and elsewhere, sensibly hurt the feelings of the 
people, and caused the event to be regarded with deep dissatis- 
faction. They did not appear exactly to understand its whole 
bearings, but what I heard they said, was, "Ah, now the 
Emperor can tax us as much as he pleases, without the consent 
of our deputies." 

Strange to say, there does not seem to be a man in all 
Germany, Prince or Minister, who appears, I won't say capable 
of dealing with the extraordinary difficulties of the present 
state of affairs, but who appears to have the slightest notion of 
the exigencies of his own country, or the times in which he 
lives. In Prussia we see a Sovereign, in reference to whom the 



142 CARLSBAD. [Chap. VI. 

most charitable conclusion at which one can arrive is, that 
he is occasionally under the influence of some mental delusion. 
On the throne of Austria appears a youth, who, I believe, is 
high-spirited, and endued with many good qualities; but, in the 
absence of all experience — with no better influences about him 
than Count Griinn and Prince Schwartzenberg— how is he to 
surmount the intense embarrassments of his present situation? 
I have no wish to speak otherwise than with respect of these 
personages. The former is, I believe, an officer of merit, 
capable of rendering the Emperor assistance in the game of 
soldiers ; and the latter is a man of courage and conduct, who, 
in ordinary times, might have filled his post with credit, but 
there belong to his character two defects which eminently 
disqualify him for the present crisis. One is, an aversion 
to popular institutions ; the other, an irritability, when thwarted 
or annoyed, which clouds his judgment, and induces him 
to overlook the real interests of his country in an almost 
petty desire to retaliate upon the person or country who has 
offended. A remarkable instance of this was afforded by his 
conduct to England in regard to Papal Aggression. Every 
one must regret the policy we pursued towards Austria 
in 1848, and it can hardly be supposed that it should 
not have generated feelings of deep dissatisfaction on the part of 
the Austrians towards us. Still, a real statesman would at once 



Chap. VI] CARLSBAD. 143 

have seen that it would not mend matters, to endeavour to 
widen the breach as much as possible by actually attempting 
to excite internal dissensions and troubles amongst us. No 
Austrian that I spoke to seemed to doubt that the celebrated 
rescript, which caused such a commotion amongst us, was more 
or less the work of Austria and Naples ; and that the price of it 
was the cession, on the part of Austria, of a most important 
right, which — extorted from the Pope by Joseph II., — has 
remained in full force up to the present time. It was to the 
effect that no Papal bull or rescript could be published, or 
have any force in the Austrian empire, without the sanction of 
the Emperor. The proposal to renounce this privilege was 
discussed in the Council of Ministers, and Prince Schwart- 
zenberg was almost alone in its advocacy. Upon a vote, 
the council decided against it; yet the Prime Minister 
thought himself strong enough to set aside that decision, 
and in an evil hour the Emperor acted upon his advice. 
The concession to the Court of Kome has an apparent, 
though perfectly unreal modification — namely, that these re- 
scripts are to be valid without the assent of the Crown only 
when they relate to spiritual matters. Who is to draw the line 
when one party claims to be infallible ? We fancy in England 
we know something about the difficulty. This concession may 
also have been granted in order more firmly to engage the 



J 44 CARLSBAD. [Chap. VI. 

Pope and his staff in the warfare against liberal opinions; 
though upon that point, after what has passed, I should have 
thought no additional incentive could have been wanting. 
That is one of my principal reasons for supposing that this act 
of conformity to the wishes of the Holy Father had a deeper 
meaning. I have, however, mentioned these circumstances — 
which, to say the least of them, are difficult to account for in 
any other way — in order to illustrate the mischiefs which will 
always arise when individuals, or statesmen, or governments — 
for the cases are identical — endeavour to injure others, or from 
a blind unchristian desire to retaliate. And then that other 
idea of inculcating passive obedience by means of the priests. 
There never was a more fatal attempt. Once mix up religion 
and politics, which is the favourite delusion of the present day 
amongst the so-called party of order on the Continent, and you 
will not fail to inflict a most serious blow upon the first, which is 
your only safeguard. I have read books upon this subject, much 
in vogue, written in an attractive style by men of ability and 
eloquence, which betray a confusion of ideas and a want of 
knowledge of the first principles of religion, which, to an 
Englishman, is as strange as it is deplorable. Let a Govern- 
ment permit an ecclesiastic to teach that there is something in- 
consistent with a man's duty towards his God in thinking that 
some particular form of government, not his own, is better cal- 



Chap. VI.] CARLSBAD. 145 

culated, than his own, to secure the happiness of his country, 
and the effect will be a recoil, as well against the instructors 
as against the religion of which they are the ministers. In 
the present times there is hardly a shorter road to the destruc- 
tion of an established church and practical infidelity. 

All men of sense will applaud the strong measures taken to 
put down the wild licence of 1848, and to restore the authority 
of the law and something like order; though it is more than 
probable, that if gradual and timely concessions had been made 
previously, we should never have witnessed such an outbreak. 
But now that this is accomplished, and with all past experience 
before them, when, instead of an attempt to educate the public 
mind in the path of self-government and rational freedom, one 
sees only a determination manifested to return to the old effete 
despotisms — to be enforced by keeping the whole Continent 
bristling with bayonets — one can hardly, perhaps, be surprised 
at the reflecting part of the German nation despairing of the 
destinies of their country. Even those who belong to the 
Absolutist party have so little faith in their, own doctrines 
and chances of success in the present state of public feeling, 
that, according to their different temperaments, they look 
to one of the three following events to clear away the clouds 
which at present overhang their political horizon : the inter- 
vention of the Emperor of Russia against liberalism — a general 



l±6 CARLSBAD. [Chap. VI. 

and very sanguinary war — or the influence of the priests. This 
presents to my mind a chaos so complete, that it might well 
require a combination of the ablest statesmen that ever lived to 
bring it back again into shape. But when, instead of a com- 
bination of ability and single-heartedness, one perceives 
nothing but mediocrity, doubtful honesty, party spirit, and 
fanciful intrigue, the mind becomes utterly perplexed, and lost 
in the contemplation of the future. Some think that the world 
has nearly run its course, and that we are upon the eve of 
stupendous events. I am inclined myself to that view, though 
I have thought that before they occurred, the part which the great 
continent of America is to take in the affairs of our globe 
would be more fully developed. But whatever may be forming 
in the womb of futurity, I think all will admit that the civilized 
world never yet exhibited so strange a spectacle. 

I perceive I have wandered far away into deep subjects, 
which ought never to engage the thoughts of a sedate water- 
drinker, who has fled from the struggle and bustle of the 
world to restore his health, and with it his mental tone. Let 
me see — where was I ? I think I began this digression by 
something about education in Germany. Well, many a time I 
have gone into the church at Carlsbad, and watched the decent 
behaviour of the little school children at mass, singing to the 
organ. I used to go there at nine o'clock, on my way to 



Chap. VI.] CARLSBAD. 147 

breakfast at the Panorama. The common class of servants 
and labourers can certainly read and write much better than 
our own ; the reasons are obvious, and I have already given 
them, that from the age of six to twelve the law compels them to 
attend school, and it has struck me, that in learning to write they 
have an advantage in the shape, and especially in the breadth, 
of their desks ; they are nearly flat, quite firm, and sufficiently 
broad to allow the arms to be supported ; ours are narrower 
and more inclined ; and as acquiring this art is always a diffi- 
culty, and more so to coarse-handed children, every facility 
possible should be given. In Austria the hours are from 
seven to nine in the morning ; then church half an hour ; then 
the girls sew and knit from ten till twelve ; they return again 
from one to three in the afternoon. Thursday is generally a 
whole holiday, besides Sunday, and they have two half holidays 
in the week, besides the great saints' days. The religious in- 
struction is usually given in church or vestry, on Sundays and 
high-days — none in school. The masters receive about <£17 a 
year, and an apartment and some wood for firing, and they get 
what they can by private teaching at leisure hours. The 
children are taught the rudiments of drawing, and sing- 
ing in parts. In some parts of Germany if a pupil 
shows an early proficiency in drawing, he is forwarded to 
another establishment to be instructed in the higher branches. 

L 2 



148 CARLSBAD. [Chap. VI. 

The Sunday in Carlsbad, as elsewhere in Germany, is the 
great day of amusement. As early as four o'clock the ser- 
vices begin in the church, and are repeated at intervals till 
midday. Quantities of the neighbouring people come into 
town at seven oclock to hear Labitsky's entire band, which is 
then united at the Theresien Brunn, and go afterwards to 
high mass to hear the same band conjoined with the organ. 
In the evening there is the best piece at the Theatre, and balls 
in the various minor places of entertainment. The masses 
begin at the very early hour named, in order to give the 
domestic servants a possibility of attendance, and many avail 
themselves of the opportunity. Why is our Church so unbend- 
ing that our services can never be accommodated to the wants 
of our people ? When was ever such a thing heard of as a 
service at four o'clock in the morning ? and no shorter selection 
from our liturgy is ever permitted under any pretence in our 
churches, however suitable it may be to the requirements of 
particular populations. Then comes another question : which 
nation is most moral and most religious — that which goes to 
church on a Sunday morning, and dedicates the rest of the day 

c 

to amusement; or that which goes to church, and endeavours to 
employ the rest of the day in sobriety and meditation ? Such, at 
least, are the respective Lord's-day theories on the Continent 
and in England. 



Chap. VI.] CARLSBAD. 149 

I am not disposed to rate the morality of the peasant class 
in England at all more highly than that of the same class 
abroad; but I think that this is more owing to their want of 
education and instruction, and to the inactivity of many of our 
country clergy, than to any defect of character, or peculiarity in 
the observance of the Sabbath. Custom also sanctions so 
many things, which in consequence become harmless in one 
place, whilst they would be very hurtful in another, that it is 
not easy directly to trace the effects of a habit such as this one 
which so essentially differs from our own ; what influence it 
may have had in that complete undermining of religious prin- 
ciple which is now so loudly and universally deplored in this 
land, it is also not easy to discover. I think, however, from 
the conversations I have had with the common people, that they 
seem to care little about the mass, and intensely for the ball 
and the shooting match, and that serious reflection, such as I 
understand it to be, is hardly compatible with the abandon 
with which an Austrian or Bohemian of this class throws him 
or her self into the dance. 

A compulsory observance of the Sunday, it is clear, defeats 
its own object; for it has been tried, and has failed. I much 
question, however, whether any country is safe whose habits in 
regard to work and amusement do not permit some stated time 
to be set apart for reflection, meditation, and devotion; for 



150 CARLSBAD. [Chap. VI. 

mere church- going without these accompaniments will soon 
become a form. Any one who will hit upon a law, or institute 
a custom, which shall insure a minimum of work to the labour- 
ing class on a Sunday, will be amongst the greatest benefactors 
to his country ; and this applies with double force to our own, 
where there are no other holidays or periods of cessation from 
toil. In Carlsbad many shops are shut on the Sunday, espe- 
cially before twelve o'clock, but a good deal of work is done ; 
and what strikes an Englishman most, is, to see buildings 
going on pretty much as usual. 

I must, however, cease moralizing; for I .have nearly ended 
my story, as far as Carlsbad is concerned. I was not fortunate 
in my attempt to improve my health. My original intention 
was to have remained there just sufficiently long to prepare 
for the baths of Frauzens brunn ; but I was persuaded by my 
medical advisers to give the waters a more extended trial ; and, 
instead of three weeks, I remained five. At the end of this 
time, unequivocal symptoms of disagreement manifested them- 
selves, and I became as nervous and uncomfortable as one 
need desire. The weather also, which though previously capri- 
cious, had been warm, became so rainy and cold that I was 
compelled to abandon all idea of the baths ; and, early in Sep- 
tember, I prepared for my return homewards. 

It was quite remarkable, after the eclipse, how regularly the 



Chap. VI.] CARLSBAD. 151 

thunder-clouds collected and discharged themselves once a 
week. On one of these occasions, the rain fell in such quan- 
tities in the higher regions of the Teple, that it all but over- 
flowed its banks at Carlsbad, and brought back uncomfortable 
reminiscences of a disaster in the season of 1821, when nearly 
all the wooden booths on the Wiese were carried off in the 
night, and an immense amount of property destroyed. At the 
same period this year, waterspouts fell in the valleys of the 
Mourg and Lichten, and carried away the bridges at Baden, and 
for a time all communication was suspended between the town 
and the gambling-rooms. A little further on the streams united, 
and, rushing into the level and fertile plains of the Khine, 
caused great devastation, and destroyed the railway in the 
neighbourhood of Kastadt. No town would appear to stand in 
so precarious a situation as Carlsbad ; thrice it has been all but 
destroyed by fire, twice by cold water, and several alarming 
symptoms of insubordination have been manifested by the 
boiling water, which they endeavour to confine to the Sprudel. 
One fine day, not many years ago, it spurted out from under 
a grocer's counter, and bathed the entire stock of sugar 
and figs. 



152 THE RETURN. [Chap. VII. 



CHAPTEK VII. 

THE RETURN. 

There is something naturally depressing, after having made 
an effort for the benefit of health, and after having buoyed 
oneself up with hopes that, though delayed, the improvement 
might still come at last, to discover that the attempt has been 
a failure, and that, possibly, harm instead of good will be the 
result, and that so one may be in a fair way to realize the 
Cheltenham epitaph : " I was pretty well, I wished to be better, 
and — Here I am." As the drowning man catches at a straw, so 
I bethought myself of the water- doctor's last refuge, when all 
his prognostics have failed : " True ! you are not better, you 
are perhaps even a little worse ; but before long you will have 
a crisis, and after that you will become sensible how much 
good this visit has conferred upon you." Trying to ino- 
culate myself with this idea — an attempt in which I need 
hardly say I was but partially successful — I considered 
by what route I would return home; and having a visit 



Chap. VII.] THE RETURN. 153 

to pay at Frankfort, I decided upon taking the railway at 
Hof, journeying to Wurzbourg, and so down the Maine, in 
preference to the shorter in time, but less interesting route 
back to Leipsig, and so on by Cassel. Finding that a German 
lady of my acquaintance was going the same way, we agreed to 
make common cause, and she suggested a conveyance to Hof — 
a town just out of the Austrian dominions — of which I was 
glad to avail myself, as I had never heard of it before. It is 
styled a Separaat Wagen — -a sort of post-coach, not a post- 
chaise. The exterior of this vehicle is not prepossessing, paint 
and varnish being very scarce upon that portion; never- 
theless, the inside is clean and comfortable, and it holds 
four persons. It has two boot-like excrescences before and 
behind, capable of containing a most liberal quantity of bag- 
gage, for which the roof offers, if wanted, still further accom- 
modation ; the front-boot is the seat of the driver. Travelling 
is by post, with two or three horses, according to the require- 
ments of the road; the payment is made at the starting- 
place for the whole distance, drivers, everything, included. The 
horses are ordered beforehand, and all you have to do is, to 
give your waybill to the postmasters at the several stations, 
who inscribe the time of your arrival and departure, and see 
that the drivers do their duty. The usual pace is from six 



154 THE RETURN. [Chap. VII. 

miles an hour, including stoppages, if the roads are pretty 
good. 

Having made the necessary arrangements, on the 7th of 
September I bid adieu to the fountains and their attendant 
nymphs, received my last bouquet, drank my last cup of choco- 
late ; and Toni, Ida, and Babbi and Kesi, not forgetting my very 
amiable old hostess, having wished me every imaginable happi- 
ness, I set out for Frankfort in the manner before described. 

There is certainly something very captivating in the ways of 
German women ; what are forms of speech in other countries 
are, or certainly seem to be, realities with them. They have a 
manner of expressing their good wishes which gladdens one's 
heart, and makes the impression that they do take an interest 
in one's welfare ; how long they think about the absent I cannot 
of course determine, but their manner, if they happen to meet 
you again, might lead you to suppose that you had not 
been forgotten in the interim. During my stay at Carlsbad 
I listened to expressions of gratitude upon the part of one 
of that sex and country, so full and deep, that I can hardly 
render them in English ; and if the attitude and manner of 
the speaker could only have been transmitted to canvas, it 
would have immortalized the painter. One day at the 
Panorama, wishing to give an order, I called to a woman 




Babbi, of the Panorama. 



See page 154. 



Chap. VII.] THE RETURN. 155 

I had been in the habit of seeing there, of a prepossessing, 
though not absolutely handsome countenance; I asked for 
the master, the Herr Knoll, but, finding he was out, said, 
I suppose you are the Frau, and it will be all the same whether 
I speak to you or him. She denied being the Hansfrau ; I 
then suggested she must be a relation, because she was always 
there. "No," she replied, "I am no relation, I am but 
an orphan, who began by being a servant here; I was 
then for some time very ill — I had not the smallest claim 
upon these people — but they took care of me, and kept me 
till I was well again, and I have been here ever since ; and 
then," she added, the tears starting to her eyes, " there are 
certain kind actions in life which beget a feeling of gratitude so 
intense, that words fail to give any relief to the desire one has to 
express the sense entertained of the obligation conferred ; all I 
have left is to pray to the Almighty continually that he will 
give the recompense I am incapable of bestowing, and enable 
me to do my duty towards my benefactors as far as human in- 
firmity will permit." 

On the day in question, as I have said, in a somewhat 
melancholy mood, I mounted the steps of the Separaat Wagen, 
where the three other places were occupied by Die Baronin Von 

, Nannette, and a little Cuban dog, called Corazon. My 

companion being extremely agreeable, I was compelled to get 



156 THE RETURN. [Chap. VII. 

rid of my spleen and low spirits. Our intention was to sleep 
at Hof, some sixty miles distant ; this we were not, however, 
destined to achieve, for, in the first place, owing to some mis- 
take, our post-coach did not make its appearance till some time 
after it was ordered ; and, in the next, we had scarcely pro- 
ceeded five miles on our road towards Elbogen, the first stage, 
when the hind axle broke in two, and we suddenly descended 
to the ground. After extricating ourselves from the ruins as 
well as we could, we left Nannette to look after the baggage, 
and walked on to the post at Elbogen, where they treated us 
very cavalierly, declared they would not supply us with another 
similar vehicle, and that we must wait till a new axle was 
made. After some angry remonstrances and threats of com- 
plaint, we found ourselves obliged to submit, and passed three 
hours and a half, more or less, in the open saloon of the Black 
Horse, which overhangs the river, laying in a stock of patience 
and Pumpernickel, for which the place is famous. It is one of 
the most freqented places of resort near Carlsbad, is extremely 
picturesque and pretty, and has two porcelain factories ; and if 
one must break down in these parts, this is, unquestionably, the 
most eligible spot. The strange thing is, that it should have such 
a very dirty-looking inn, for if well cleaned, and nicely fitted 
up, with its verandah saloon and fine view behind, it would be 
the Star and Garter of Carlsbad. I wonder the China makers 



Chap. VII.] THE RETURN. 157 

have not the spirit to do it; it would answer to them admirably, 
for every one who makes a holiday to Elbogen makes a pur- 
chase with them. The repast obtainable, however, is better 
than appearances indicate. 

Finding it impossible to reach Hof till very late indeed, we 
determined to pass the evening with some friends at Franzens- 
bad, and accordingly directed our steps thither. It took us about 
six hours the following morning to reach Hof, and undergo a 
certain but not very rigorous examination at the Bavarian Zoll- 
verein frontier. The distance is not more than twenty-seven 
miles, but the road is hilly, and much of it bad; a new one 
is constructing — an unwonted sight in these railway days; 
it lies over a portion of the Erzegebirge, and is agreeable 
enough ; heath and wild flowers and fresh air in abundance. 

On arriving at Hof, which is a good-looking town of some 
importance, well situated upon the steep banks of a stream, we 
had an instance of theundeviating adherence to routine displayed 
by even the most subordinate of official personages in Germany. 
Perceiving that we were about to pass the railway station at 
the entrance of the town on our way to the post, I suggested to 
the postilion the propriety of halting, in order that our baggage, 
at least, might be deposited there. His reply was to the effect, 
that it was his business to take us to the Koyal Poste, and no- 
where else ; that once there we might proceed, if we liked, to an 



158 THE RETURN. [Chap. VII. 

inn opposite, the master of which had an omnibus on purpose to 
take passengers and their effects from the town to the station. 
Suiting the action to the word, he drove on without waiting for 
a rejoinder about a mile, where we found both the poste and the 
inn. At this hotel I saw, for the first time in Germany, a couple 
of Negroes, at the table d'hote, and my companion was seized 
with such an uncontrollable fit of laughter at the novelty that 
we were obliged to retire to a private apartment, our flight 
being so rapid that I had not time to ascertain what brought 
them there. We were very well served, and, in due time, the 
promised omnibus took us back to the station. 

I don't think that even Mr. Bickley himself — the dehonnaire 
of the North Western Eailway — could surpass in politeness 
and attention the officials of this Koyal Saxon Bavarian Line. 
The carriages are admirable, the second class perfectly com- 
fortable, and occupied by people with whom it is no hardship 
to travel. The first class are in the form of a saloon, with a 
table in the middle. It poured with rain nearly the whole way 
to Bamberg, which was our destination, and which prevented 
our enjoying the remarkably pretty country through which we 
passed ; it did not, however, in the least prevent the same pour- 
ing forth of passengers at each station as occurred between 
Hamburgh and Leipzic, and the devourings of all sorts of 
butterbrodts and strange meats, accompanied by potations of 



Chap. VII.] THE RETURN. 159 

brilliant- coloured real Bavarian beer, in quantities which would 
have astonished a drayman, those who were out bringing por- 
tions to their wives and children within. 

This malt liquor is by no means unagreeable to the taste, 
and apparently much lighter than ours. Those who don't 
object to a bit of cake, I strongly recommend to make trial of 
some of the various forms in which it will be presented 
to them, should they find themselves upon this line ; most of 
them are good, and there is one sort twisted into many shapes, 
like a mixture of Bath bun and fried potato strips, that is by 
no means to be despised. I think its name is Spitz kraft, but 
I am not quite sure. Why is it that we cannot make anything 
of any sort in England that can be called light when compared 
with a similar article on the Continent ? A delicate stomach, 
to which a Banbury cake would be poison, can touch all 
these things with perfect impunity. The same may be said 
of our ragouts, our beer, our ale, our pudding, our fur- 
niture, and almost every article we fabricate, whether of use 
or luxury or ornament. If you want to make a trifling pre- 
sent, such a thing is not to be found ; articles for this purpose 
are strongly and expensively constructed, calculated to last 
1000 years. I don't mean to cast any undue aspersions upon 
the solidity of our insular contrivances, and a dyspeptic subject 
is not, perhaps, a fair critic in matieres de bouche, but I still 



]60 THE RETURN. [Chap. VII. 

think that a little dash of the spirit of the German Mehlspeise 
and French Brioche would not be without its beneficial effects 
upon our compounds and industry generally. We left Hof 
about two, and arrived at Bamberg a little before seven. The 
darkness of the evening, added to the lateness of the hour, 
prevented our seeing more than a dim outline of the stately 
town, spread out upon its hill side. We got apartments at 
the Bamberger Hof. Here we had that species of supper, 
established by English travel, called The mit machine; in other 
words, tea with an urn. There is a curious fact connected 
with this sort of meal, which seems unaccountable upon any 
ordinary principles of value, but is not the less true. If you 
have what is called a portion of tea, which is a teapot full 
made for you, and a second with hot water, that you may suit 
the strength to your fancy, the charge is next to nothing ; but 
once light up your tea urn, and it is somewhat more than the 
same luxury would cost you in England. Here it was so 
exorbitant that my companion, with a very grave face, told the 
host, that though it did not much signify to us, yet that he had 
better be careful what he was doing, for though she was a 
German, her companion was an Englishman, and an author of 
considerable celebrity, who would probably give an account of 
his travels, which would go through several editions ; and if this 
circumstance was mentioned, it might be prejudicial to his 



Chap. VII.] THE RETURN. 1G1 

interests, and get into the Handbook. The effect was ludi- 
crously instantaneous, and the unintentional error -was at once 
set to rights. I got up very early to revisit some of my 
favourite spots in the town ; in fact, it was somewhat too early, 
for when I inquired for my laquais de place, he was gone to 
mass to prepare for his ordinary avocations, and could not be 
had, so I wandered about with a second-rate one, less scrupulous 
about his religious duties, and had a very fine morning for 
my ramble. Much architectural beauty; the principal build- 
ings well situated, overlooking one of the most fertile plains 
in Germany, watered by a fine river, the view, bounded by 
hills and forests, — combine to give Bamberg no mean ap- 
pearance. I remembered it well from a visit ten years' pre- 
viously, and it fully realized my old impressions. The situation 
of the cathedral is admirable; and one feels sincere gratitude to 
the abdicated monarch of these realms for the good sense, 
the judgment and courage, with which he reformed, both here 
and in every other portion of his dominions, the outrageous 
violations of taste and decorum in the shapes of the bedizened 
altars and disfigured images which he found in the ecclesiastical 
edifices upon his accession to the throne. In the course of my 
stroll I passed through the market, and inquired about the 
potatoes. I found that here, as in Bohemia, though by no 
means universal, the destruction had been extensive. 

M 



IG2 THE RETURN. [Chap. VII. 

There is a contract entered into for a railway from hence to 
Frankfort, but it is not yet commenced ; so we were fain to avail 
ourselves of the coupe of the diligence to proceed to Wurzbourg, 
whence the steamers descend the Maine. I could hardly have 
believed that ten years could have effected so little alteration — I 
perhaps should say amelioration — in the posting of a country, as 
that to which I was, perforce, reduced to-day. The Bavarian 
posting was in all times remarkable for its badness ; but when 
everything else, everywhere else, has been accelerated, one should 
have thought some small spark of the electricity might have 
penetrated even here. Not so, however : the roads are just as 
bad — the pace as slow — the drag applied as often and as unne- 
cessarily — the tunes on the horn as long winded — the stoppages 
equally tedious as in a.d. 1840 — and even the old pipe was still 
glued to the Schwager's lips. However, we left Bamberg about 
eleven, did contrive to finish some sixty miles, and arrived at 
the Kron Prinz, at Wurzbourg, about seven o'clock. That 
hotel is not very recommendable ; the other, the Bussicher Hof, 
is, I understand, better. 

The following morning at five o'clock we embarked on board 
the Konigin Marie, a beautiful steamboat, built from an Eng- 
lish model, at Aschaffenburg. As the old bridge at that 
place has such narrow arches that the boats cannot exceed a 
certain width, it might have been expected that, for the naviga- 



Chap. VII.] THE RETURN. 163 

tion of such a river, one of the arches at least might have been 
widened, if it was considered too expensive to rebuild the bridge 
entirely: but not so. There is — regal vagary — an attempt at a 
facsimile of a Pompeian house actually in sight of this very 
structure, which has cost more than would have accomplished 
all that was wanted for this most desired and desirable object, 
and one is tempted, upon seeing it, to wish that the useful had 
had a little more access to the Eoyal mind here whilst in pursuit 
of this classical beau ideal. The river Maine was more foggy 
and cold this 6th of September, than when I embarked at 
Mayence, in January last, upon the Khine. The weather, 
however, improved later in the day, and we were able to enjoy 
some of the striking points of view with which this river 
abounds ; did not one know the Khine from Bonn to Mayence, 
the Maine would have a great reputation. There is in both 
much similarity of feature; but in scale and sternness the 
Rhine is greatly superior, while in the softer and more pleasing 
details of the scene, the Rhine can produce nothing more attrac- 
tive than the approach to Aschaffenburg, Wertheim, and Mil- 
senberg. The river was much swollen by the recent heavy 
rains, and we were carried down upon its descending tide at 
so rapid a rate, that at many of the stations we were obliged 
to halt for some time till the advertised period of depar- 
ture had arrived. In not a few places the water was over 

m 2 



164 THE RETURN. [Chap. VII. 

the banks, and the horses towing the barges up the stream were 
floundering in it. It appeared a very dangerous operation, 
considering the rapidity and depth of the river, and must be, 
in point of labour and tediousness, worse than warping a 
frigate. A lesson for an impatient nature ! 

What an odd thing it is that at least nineteen-twentieths 
of mankind delight in proceeding with extreme speed what- 
ever may be the business, or pleasure, or misfortunes of the 
hour, not reflecting that they are simply passing one of those 
days which make up the complement of their existence, and 
that the question they will wish to be able to answer 
satisfactorily one day, will be, not whether it was passed in 
rapid locomotion, but whether it was passed wisely and well. 
Yet, after all, who can resist the exhilaration of a fast steamer 
on a fine river on a sunny day ? It is infectious, a providential 
arrangement to get rid of the cares of life ; and yet I saw one 
here who was wholly insensible to the charm. 

We had not many passengers on board at first, but at Lauer 
we had a large accession of company returning from Kissingen, 
almost entirely English, and some curious specimens. My com- 
panion and I made acquaintance with two German women, who 
had travelled with us from Bamberg ; the elder had depicted 
upon her countenance the most fearful expression of woe I ever 
beheld; she had just lost the last of four children, and was 



Chap. VII.] THE RETURN. J 65 

under the impression not only that she was fated herself, but 
that she was a species of Ahnfrau. The other, a younger 
woman, though not a relation, watched her with the affec- 
tionate solicitude of her race, and seemed anxiously to try 
and catch some slight alteration in the fixed and changeless 
visage before her. 

Perceiving that this friend had with her one of the Hun- 
garian Zitterns, we begged her to play a little upon it. The 
plaintive and deeply-touching tones of this musical instrument 
must be heard to be imagined. I had never seen one before, 
and I am sure there are moments in one's life when its chords 
would have all the effects which Dryden attributes to the lyre 
of Timotheus. I don't recollect being ever more stirred. 
Suddenly the thought struck me, that this could not fail, for 
the moment at least, to soothe the broken heart. I looked up 
full of hope at the idea ; but my glance fell at once before the 
frigid and impassive expression of despair which I encoun- 
tered. My kindhearted companion laboured also with her 
friend, when she found what the case was, to console this poor 
woman, and we afterwards accidentally learned not without 
some success. 

As the day wore on it became beautiful, and nothing was 
left to desire for the light and shade of the scenery, as we 



166 THE RETURN. [Chap. VII. 

passed in safety, with lowered funnel, under the antique "bridge 
of Aschaffenburg. Before arriving there, we took in a peasant, 
with his wife and many children, just starting on their way to 
California, with all their implements and furniture. They were 
not forced to fly their land from absolute poverty ; but they 
thought their prospects better in the modern Eldorado. The 
poor little children excited great sympathy amongst the idlers, 
like myself, on board, and many were the speculations as to 
their future adventures and destinies. I don't suppose they 
will ever again receive so much notice, or so many cakes and 
kreuzers, as they did on this day. How mysterious and admi- 
rable are the ways of Providence, to draw away population 
from lands where it has become too dense for general comfort, 
either owing to faulty laws, bad institutions 3 or some other 
secondary cause! He casteth forth his gold, like morsels; who 
is able to abide the magnetic influence ? I firmly believe 
that the regeneration of Ireland could never have been 
effected but by the wonderful emigration that we now see 
going on. Some people are alarmed at it, and I don't profess to 
be wiser than my fellows ; but I confess that, after the entire 
failure of Lord George Hill and other benevolent and ener- 
getic individuals of the same stamp, despair began to fill my 
mind as to the fortune of that island, and, of course, sooner or 



Chap. VII.] THE RETURN. 167 

later, of our own ; for we cannot, if we would, disconnect our- 
selves. Horace pronounces a great moral truth, when, instruct- 
ing his poet, he says — 

" Nee Deus intersit nisi dignus vindice nodus." 

Thus, perhaps, we are witnessing the gracious ways of a 
Divine Kuler towards a nation amongst whom ten righteous are 
yet to be found, when the wisest and best are incapable of 
devising a counsel to remedy the evil. " Every man," exclaims 
Kanke, " ought to believe that his country is immortal;" and 
he might have added, should act as if its destinies depended 
upon his own individual exertion. I have that faith in the 
highest degree, so long as there are many amongst us who shall 
believe and try, as far as human infirmity will permit them, to 
act upon their belief, that " righteousness exalteth a nation, 
but sin is a reproach to any people." 

How I have wandered again ! I shall never arrive at my 
destination. However, at half-past five, a fine clear glowing 
evening saw us moored to the landing-place of that fine old 
town of Frankfort, with its massive spires and tower frowning 
over the flood that washes its thriving quays. These were new 
thronged with a busy crowd, for the fair was at its height; 
so busy, that, except those who were upon the watch to reap 
some benefit, in the shape of a job from the passengers, little 



168 THE RETURN. [Chap. VII. 

attention was paid to our arrival. The living contents of the 
Konigin were soon dispersed on shore. I sent away my goods 
in a fiacre to the hospitable mansion to which I was bound ; 
and I then turned all my attention to my fair companion, who 
was about to encounter a difficulty of no common magnitude, 
namely, that of finding a lodging during fair- time. I gave my 
arm, Nannette led Corazon in a string, who amused himself by 
running under our legs and those of every one we met, and 
greatly retarded our operations; the porter followed with a truck, 
and we commenced our pilgrimage. The Englische, Eussiche, 
Koemische, Pariser, and Schwann were essayed in vain — a bad 
apartment at the Englische, which we found vacant, and rejected, 
having been engaged when we returned to take it. This be- 
tokened that the six or seven hundred best hotel rooms in Frank- 
fort were already occupied. At length, we began to think of a 
bivouac — rather an unpleasant predicament for a lady — when 
we made a last attempt at the Weidenbusch, and secured the 
only two remaining beds they had to dispose of — fortunately, a 
tolerable apartment. And thus this day's anxieties were 
set at rest. I knew nothing previously of this hotel; but 
I can strongly recommend it, even to an unprotected female, 
for great cleanliness and comfort, and, what I never yet could 
obtain at the Kussie, civil and attentive service. 

On Saturday, the 6th, I arrived at Frankfort. On the 16th 



Chap. VII.] THE RETURN. 169 

I left it, and during the whole of that time the weather was as 
overcast and cold as it was clear and warm in England, and 
which most providentially gave us that excellent harvest which 
has not been by any means universal on the Continent. The 
corn harvest in Germany, upon the whole, I take to have been 
of average abundance, but not more. The potatoes have 
suffered in about the same degree as our own. The prog- 
nostics of the vintage at this time were of a very sombre tone, 
and the cold had so retarded it that in many places it was 
doubtful if the grapes would ripen at all. During my stay at 
Frankfort, I was so well tended that I recovered my strength 
and spirits much ; and I was somewhat consoled by a visit we 
paid to that most fashionable gambling establishment and 
watering-place, Homburg, where I saw some of my friends, 
and more I saw elsewhere who had been there, who I thought 
looked quite as ill and miserable as I did. 

I don't know how I should relish having such a fatherland 
as Homburg; but the spectacle of a state entirely supported by 
the proceeds of the gambling- table, i. e., by taxes taken from 
the contributors in a manner the most injurious to their moral 
and physical welfare, is not edifying. Such is actually the case 
here. The expenses of the Landgrave and his state are 
entirely defrayed by the amount paid for the privilege by the 
owners of these gaming-tables. Across this table the pro- 



170 THE RETURN. [Chap. VII. 

tectionist and free-trader may shake hands, for the financial 
scheme is so exquisitely devised that, whilst trade is per- 
fectly free, the principal portion of the revenue is contributed 
by the foreigner. On the demise of the present sovereign of 
roulette and rouge et noir, the territories pass, I think, to 
Hesse Darmstadt; let us hope he may find another method of 
raising his revenues. No Englishman should fail to visit the 
Langravian Residenz ; he will find much to interest him, espe- 
cially should he know something of the story of the court and 
family of George III. I was quite sorry to leave it; the 
gardens and views are by no means devoid of beauty, and the 
old seneschal is a character that takes one back to old times. 
It is a misnamed Residenz — for no one resides there, but, though 
almost uninhabited, it is in perfect preservation. 

The fair lasted all the time I was at Frankfort, about ten 
days, and appeared to me crowded enough whenever I visited 
it ; but I am informed that the levelling power of steam has 
acted upon the great German fairs, as upon everything else, and 
that the glories of even this renowned gathering are fading away. 
They still, however, congregate curious specimens of wares, 
made in very out-of-the-way places, together with their con- 
trivers, whose appearance is not less outlandish. A troop of 
equestrians is always a standing dish at these solemnities, and 
it seems to be a very thriving and successful branch of in- 



Chap. VII.] THE RETURN. J 71 

dustry; formerly, a good company of singers and actors was 
also considered a sine qua non; but the heels seem to be in the 
ascendant over the heads, and upon this occasion the Circus 
was all the fashion. 

On the 16th I quitted the seat of the Germanic Diet for 
England. I believe there is nothing to prevent a traveller 
starting in the forenoon of one day from Frankfort, and 
arriving in London the following evening, travelling all night, 
if proper regulations were made, and the journey might be 
performed by either Antwerp, Ostend, or Calais, though, 
of course, most surely, by the short sea passage. Such, 
however, are the jealousies existing between the various 
countries to whom the different routes belong, that they 
decline accommodating each other; and the result is, that, 
unless by a fortunate accident, the passenger will have to pass 
two nights on the way. But he has a great choice of locality ; 
he may pass them either at Cologne, at Calais, at Ostend, in 
the railway, on the river, or on the German Ocean. These are 
selected according to the various fancies of the wayfarers ; 
but the true Briton chafes when all necessary exertion is not 
made to bring him as speedily, and safely, and as comfortably 
as possible to his destination, and he longs to let his injuries 
overflow into the sympathizing columns of the Times. I 
wonder if foreigners ever read them. 



172 THE RETURN. [Chap. VII. 

My journey over that novel route, via Cologne, Calais, and 
Dover, offers no incident worthy of relation. I had just light 
enough upon my arrival in the capital of Rhenish Prussia to 
examine and note the progress of its architectural wonder, and 
to learn its present prospects. The King of Prussia contributes 
50,000 thalers yearly. What would Exeter Hall think of a 
Protestant King and government contributing to such a work ? 
The same amount is given by the municipality, and nearly the 
like from amongst the faithful in other lands. The ex-King of 
Bavaria has been a munificent donor, and the splendid 
stained-glass windows which he caused to be executed under 
his own superintendence at Munich are already in their places. 
The above sum enables them to keep about one hundred men 
constantly employed, and at this rate they reckon the cathedral 
may be completed in thirty-five years. The stone is a fine 
lime-stone from Holland. It must always be of a height dis- 
proportioned to its length ; but it is a truly magnificent con- 
ception of the unknown architect. 

On the 17th I traversed Belgium and arrived at Calais, and 
on the 18th, almost before day broke, I was again on the 
shores of our Island Home. 



Chap. VII.] THE RETURN. J 73 

Header ! it is now time that I should take leave of thee, if 
thou hast accompanied me so far. I have declared to thee 
why I went, where I went, and what I thought about ; and 
if so much egotism has not disgusted thee — still more if I have 
enabled thee to pass a leisure hour agreeably, or to devise a 
better project than I did for thy health or recreation — think 
kindly of the Author, who now bids thee farewell. 



THE END. 



G. Woodfall and Son, Printers, AngeJ Court, Skinner Street, London. 



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$kt tit SStorito ffatrlj $eabg* 



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terms not tobefoimd explained in any English dictionary.'''' — Quebec Morning Chronicle. 

XX. 

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NOW FIRST COLLECTED AND EDITED, WITH A MEMOIR OF HIS LIFE. 

BY THE VERY REV. GEORCE PEACOCK. D.D., 

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PROGRESS OF CUNEIFORM AND HIEROGLYPniCAL DISCOVERY. 

BY REV. GEORGE RAWL1NSON, M.A,. 

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The translation itself has been undertaken from a conviction of the entire inadequacy 
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the extreme unpleasantness of his style, render his translation completely insufficient 
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HANDBOOK OF CHRONOLOGY. 

ALPHABETICALLY ARRANGED TO FACILITATE REFERENCE. 
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It will enable the student or general reader, or man of the world, to put his finger 
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XXVII. 

AN ACCOUNT OF 

THE DANES AND NORTHMEN, IN ENGLAND, 
SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND. 

BY J. J. A. WORSAAE, FOR. F.S.A., LONDON. 

"Woodcuts. Post 8vo. 

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xxvur. 

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XXX. 

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XXXI. 

HISTORY OF THE ADVENTURES AND EXPLOITS 
OF KING GUSTAVUS VASA. 

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XXXIII. 

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xxxiv. 

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OBTAINED FROM PERSONAL INSPECTION IN 1836—50 — 51. 
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BY DR. WAAGEN, 

Director of the Royal Gallery of Pictures at Berlin. 

2 Vols. 8vo. 
XXXV. 

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HANDBOOK FOR ENGLAND AND WALES. 

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3 Vols. Post 8vo. 
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XXXIX. 

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MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF NEW WORKS. 11 



LAYARD'S LATEST DISCOVERIES AT NINEVEH, 



Nearly ready, in one handsome volume folio, 

ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE SCULPTURES, YASES, 
AND BRONZES 

RECENTLY DISCOVEKED AT NINEVEH. 
[DURING MR. LAYARD'S SECOND VISIT.] 



PRINCIPALLY BAS-RELIEFS OP THE WARS AND EXPLOITS OF SENNACHERIB 
FROM HIS PALACE AT KOUYUNJIK. FROM DRAWINGS BY MR. LAYARD, &c. 

UNIFORM WITH LAYARD'S MONUMENTS OP NINEVEH. 

* # * It has been ascertained, from Inscriptions lately decypliered, that the Palace of Kouyunjik, 
excavated by Mr. Layard, was built by Sennacherib, King of Assyria, and that its Sculptures represent 
events recorded in Sacred History.— 2 Kings xvii. and xviii. 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

FRONTISPIECE. 

COLOSSAL LION. 

WINGED BULL AND KING. 

KING AND ALTAR. 

DAEMON AND PRIESTS. 

FISH PRIEST AND OTHER FIGURES. 

HORSES LED. 

MEN CARRYING FRUIT, LOCUSTS, &c. 

CONTINUATION. 

OBELISKS IN BOAT, AND HORSES. 

ENGINEERING OPERATIONS OF THE ASSYRIANS IN TRANSPORTING 

COLOSSAL OBELISKS AND STATUES. 
TRANSPORT OF ONE OF THE COLOSSAL BULLS. 
DRAWING BULL. 
DRAWING BULL. 

WORKMEN RAISING ARTIFICIAL MOUND. 

MULTITUDE RAISING THE WINGED BULL TO THE SUMMIT OF THE 
MOUND IN PRESENCE OF THE KING. 



MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF NEW WORKS. 



ILLUSTRATIONS-(Coxtimjed.) 

TRANSPORT OF BULL UPRIGHT. 

WORKMEN WITH IMPLEMENTS. 

SIEGE OF A CITY. 

CAPTIVES. 

ASSYRIAN TROOPS BEFORE THE CITY OF LACHISH. 

THE SIEGE OF LACHISH, BY SENNACHERIB. 

CAPTIVES AND SPOIL FROM THE CITY OF LACHISH. 

SENNACHERIB ON HIS THRONE BEFORE THE CITY OF LACHISH— 

"Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah did Sennacherib, King of Assyria, come up 
against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them. And Hezekiah, King of Judah 
sent to the King of Assyria to Lachish."— 2 Ki>gs, xviii. 13, 14. 

CHARIOT AND ATTENDANTS OF SENNACHERIB. 
BATTLE IN MARSHES. 
CONTINUATION. 
BATTLE IN MARSH. 
CONTINUATION. 
TRIUMPHS OF SENNACHERIB. 
CAPTIVES AND IDOLS. 
SIEGE AND ESCALADE. 

A HUNTING SCENE FROM KHORSHABAD 
CAPTIVES BROUGHT TO ASSYRIA. 
CONTINUED. 
CAPTIVES AND SPOIL. 
CONTINUED. 

CONQUEST OF A MOUNTAINOUS COUNTRY 
CONTINUED. 
SIEGE OF A CITY. 
SIEGE AND PLUNDER OF A CITY, 
KING PREPARING TO CROSS A RIVER. 
SIEGE OF CITY ON THE BANKS OF A RIVER. 
CONTINUED. 

CAPTIVES WITH FEATHERED HEAD-DRESS. 
THE CONQUEST OF THE SON OF ESARHADDON. 
CONTINUED. 
CONTINUED. 
CONTINUED. 
CONTINUED. 
PAVEMENTS. 

ROCK SCULPTURE OF SENNACHERIB AT BAVIAN. 
STATUE OF A PRIEST. 
COLOURED TILES. 
CONTINUED. 

TEN PLATES OF BRONZE VESSELS, &c. &c. DISCOVERED IN THE 
ROYAL TREASURE-HOUSE. 



A LIMITED EDITION ONLY HAS BEEN PRINTED. 



2 Kings, xix. 37. 



Albemarle Street, 

January t 1852. 



MR. MURRAY'S 

LIST OF NEW WORKS NOW READY, 



LOED MAHOISr. 

Q c $wA S^rs of % f nieritait Wm : 

1763—80. 

FORMING VOLS. V. AND VI. OF LORD MAHON'S "HISTORY OF ENGLAND." 
2 Vols. Svo. 305. 

In the Appendix to these volumes will be found a great number of letters from Lord 
Chatham, and several from Mr. Fox, derived from the Grafton MSS. ; two Memoires on 
a projected Invasion of England by the French in 1767 and 1768, derived from the 
Chatham MSS. ; various unpublished documents, and many extracts from the King's 
Private Correspondence with Lord North. 

It is intended to complete this work in one more volume, bringing down the History 
of England and of British India to the end of the American war, and at the close review- 
ing the social state of the people during the seventy years which this history will com- 
prise. The last volume will also contain an ample Index to all the seven. — Dec. 1851. 



THE BISHOP OF OXFOED. 



% Cjrcrgt to ilje Clergg of tjjc giottst of $iforfr, 

AT HIS SECOND VISITATION, NOVEMBER, 1S51. 
Svo. 3s. Gd. 



14 MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF NEW WORKS. 



PARIS IN 1851. 



% Jfagot of Jfitndj Stick 

By the Author of " Bubbles from the Brunnen op Nassau." 

2 Vols. Post 8vo. 24s. 

" An old soldier, of benevolent disposition and literary turn, is afflicted with blepliam- 
2>hthalmia, a complaint in the eyes, which if its nature is to be measured by its name, 
must be of a rather formidable description. To consult an eminent French oculist, he 
repairs to Paris, which he has not visited for six-aud-thirty years — when he entered it, 
we presume, as a conqueror. At Paris he remains little more than three weeks, but of 
these he makes excellent use." 

" He tells you in his preface. He walked the streets , ' collecting literary sticks, 
picked up exactly in the order and state in which he chanced to find them. They are 
thin, short, dry, sapless, crooked, headless, and pointless. In the depth of winter, how- 
ever, a faggot of real French sticks — although of little intrinsic value — may possibly 
enliven for a few moments an English fireside.' The metaphor is rather far-fetched, 
and needs elucidation. In a word, then, Sir Francis Head, eschewing gaieties and invi- 
tations, neglected his friends, suffered his letters of introduction to rest in his port- 
manteau, and passed his three weeks of May — to our thinking, the pleasantest month of 
the year at Paris — in visiting the public buildings, institutions, charities, museums — in 
short, everything that was worth seeing in the French capital and its faubourgs. To 
see so much, in so short a time, required, we need not say, early rising and no small 
degree of activity. He took with him to his task the kindly spirit and minute observa- 
tion for which he is distinguished, and, on his return to England, cast his notes and 
reminiscences into volumes, summoning to his aid the easy, cheerful style, and sly 
humour which have long since caused his name to sound harmoniously in the ears of all 
lovers of a genial and amusing book. We rejoice that this book is one we can honestly 
praise." — Literary Gazette. 

" The style of Sir Francis is diffuse and minute. He enumerates as often as he 
describes, and that in the manner of Dickens and his imitators — if they, indeed, have 
not imitated the " Gallop " and the " Bubbles." The book, however, is very curious, 
readable, and in some sense informing ; but perhaps its most remarkable feature is, how 
much may be seen in Paris in a short time by a man who resolutely sets about it." — 
Spectator. 



MRS. BRAY. 



life of Cljonras gfafok, %l%. 

WITH PERSONAL REMINISCENCES. 

ILLUSTRATED BY EXCRAVIXG.S FROM HIS CHIEF WORKS, PB1NTED IN A NOVEL STYLE OF ART. 

With Portrait Fcap. 4to. 21s. 

" A more beautiful volume than this is not often issued. The ' numerous illustrations ' 
have been chosen with a sedulous respect for the reputation of the graceful artist whose 
life was in his works ; and they have been rendered with most delicate care — there 
being something in the nature of Stothard's genius which lent itself, with more than 
ordinary adapt ability, to this form of presentment." — Athencmm. 



MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF NEW WORKS. 15 



SIE CHAELES LYELL. 

% Utoiuil of ^lenmttarjj §tala^. 

OR, THE ANCIENT CHANGES OF THE EARTH AND ITS INHABITANTS, 
ILLUSTRATED BY ITS GEOLOGICAL MONUMENTS. 

Fourth Edition, Revised and Enlarged. Svo. 12.?. 

In consequence of the rapid sale of the last edition (ofw7iic7i 2000 copies were printed 
in January last), another has been called for. Even in this short interval, many new 
facts of unusual importance in palaeontology have come to light, or have been verified 
for the first time. To render this additional information accessible to the purchasers 
of the former, the preface to this edition is printed separately. Price 6d. 



EEV. JOHN PENEOSE, M.A. 



$taam for |fo«se|oIbs; 

BEING FIFTY-FOUR SERMONS WRITTEN FOR SUNDAY READING. 

Svo. 10s. 6d. 



LUIGI-CABLO FABINI. 



listers of % Ikirait Bkttl tsis— so, 

TRANSLATED FROM THE ITALIAN. 

BY THE EIGHT HON. W. E. GLADSTONE, M.P. 

2 Vols. Svo. 24s. 



CHAELES BABBAGE, ESQ. 



%\t €%pBitm fif 1851. 



OR, VIEWS OF THE INDUSTRY, THE SCIENCE, AND THE GOVERNMENT OF ENGLAND. 
Second Edition, -with Additions. 8vo. 7s. Gd. 



1 <> MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF NEW WORKS. 



GEN. SIR HOWARD DOUGLAS, G.C.B. 



% treatise on $wjpto fjta&al (iramerg. 

FOR THE USE OF OFFICERS AND TRAINING OF SEAMEN GUNNERS. 
DEDICATED BY SPECIAL PERMISSION TO THE LOEDS COMMISSIONERS OF THE ADMIRALTY. 

Third Edition, revised. "With numerous Plates. 8vo. 21s. 

" The work of Sir Howard Douglas has not only stood its ground for thirty years 
and more, but (harder task) has operated on the Admiralty. The new edition contains 
an account of all the improvements that have taken place in the theory and practice 
of naval gunnery since the appearance of its predecessor." — Spectator. 



WILLIAM SMITH, LL.D. 

« 

CM1 



BY VARIOUS "WRITERS. 

ILLUSTRATED "WITH COINS, PLANS OF CITIES, DISTRICTS, AND BATTLES. 

Medium Svo. Part I. 4s. 

Although, for the sake of uniformity, it is called a Dictionary of Greek and Roman 
Geography, it will be in reality a Dictionary of Ancient Geography, including even 
Scriptural Names. At present there does not exist, in the English or even in the 
German languages, any work on Ancient Geography sufficiently comprehensive and 
accurate to satisfy the demands of modern scholarship. And yet there are few subjects 
connected with antiquity for which we have such ample materials. The discoveries of 
modern travellers, as well as the researches of modern scholars, have, within the last 
few years, added greatly to our knowledge of Ancient Geography ; and it will be the 
aim of the Editor to present, in the present work, the results of their labours in this 
important branch of Classical Antifmity. 

The work will, of course, not be confined to a barren description of the geography of 
countries, and of the sites of places ; but it will also include an accouut of the political 
history both of countries and of cities. An attempt will likewise be made to trace, as 
far as possible, the history of the more important buildings of the cities, and to give an 
account of their present condition wherever they still exist. 

.*** To appear in Quarterly Parts, and to form One Volume. 



SIR CHARLES BELL'S BRIDGEWATER TREATISE. 

— ♦ — ■ 

<b\)t IHccIjanisiit autr Cbnbotuments of % gaifo, 

AS EVINCING DESIGN. 
A New Edition. "With many Woodcuts. Post 8vo. It. 6J. 



MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF NEW WORKS. 17 



MAJOE-GENEEAL CATHCAET. 



l&mA si % Mm m ^mm anir §txmxq 



of 1813—14. 



With Plans. 8vo. 14*. 



" We owe Col. Cathcart's solid and unpretending volume a notice. * * *— Sound, 
concise, aud pregnant. It seems to us to be equally valuable for its facts and its com- 
mentaries." — Quarterly Review. 



WILLIAM JOHNSTON", ESQ. 



POLITICAL, SOCIAL, AND INDUSTRIAL. 

2 Vols. Post 8vo. 18*. 

" C'est un ouvrage plein de renseignements, full of information, comme disent les 
Anglais, et ces sortes de publications excitent, avec raison, une curiosite fort vive, 
aujourd'hui que les nations reconnaissent avec le sage la necessite de se connaitre 
soi-memes, et aussi de bien connaitre les autres, ne fut-ce que pour le mieux juger par 
comparaison." — V Illustration. 



SIE JAMES EMEESON TENNENT. 

Cljrktkrafjj in €qk\x, 

ITS INTRODUCTION AND PROGRESS UNDER THE PORTUGUESE, DUTCH, BRITISH, 
AND AMERICAN MISSIONS. 

With Illustrations. 8vo. 14s. 

" Though it is now nearly a year since this work issued from the press, we suspect 
it is by no means so extensively known as it ought to be. It is seldom that we have a 
governor in any of our colonies or dependencies turning his attention to the history and 
progress of missions. Sir Emerson Tennent has been long and favourably known to 
the Christian public, as taking a deep interest in all educational and religious 
movements which have for their object the good of the people. His sketches of 
the characteristics of Buddhism and Brahmanism are among the best of the kind we 
ever recollect having seen. The interest which he seems to have taken in the cause 
of missions during his stay on the island contrasts very favourably with the conduct of 
most other government agents. The clear statement of the difficulties with which the 
missionaries have to contend, and the confident hope expressed of final success, should 
make the churches at home more patient towards their missionaries, and stir them up 
to redoubled exertions. The volume will be found one of the most instructive and 
interesting that has issued for a long time from the English press." — Edinburgh Witness. 



18 MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF NEW WORKS. 

HOK^ ^EGYTTIAC^E. 

%\t <%0ita%jj of %\mmi <%pi 

DISCOVERED FROM ASTRONOMICAL AND HIEROGLYPHIC RECORDS UPON ITS MONUMENTS. 

BY REGINALD STUAET POOLE, ESQ. 

With Plates. 8vo. 10*. 63. 



AUSTEN H. LAYAKD, ESQ. 

% Joprlar %mmt of \p Jfirai (Kiptbition to ItkMj- 

ARRANGED BY HIMSELF FOR POPULAR CIRCULATION. 

With Numerous Woodcuts. Post 8vo. 5s. 

" This interesting volume forms a portion of the series of ' Murray's Reading for the 
Rail.' It is an abridgment, by the author himself, of his larger work, ' Nineveh and 
its Remains.' Mr. Layard was induced to undertake this publication on account of 
the great curiosity excited by his discoveries at Nineveh, and the great eagerness 
evinced by the public to peruse an authentic account of them. The small edition now 
published seems calculated to supply what was wanted ; and its cheapness will ensure 
for it a very extensive circulation. In this abridgment the author has omitted the 
second part of the larger work, and, by introducing the principal biblical and historical 
illustrations into the narrative, he has rendered it more agreeable to the general reader." 
— Morning Herald* 

" We have in this volume an admirable epitome of the author's valuable work ' On 
Nineveh and its Remains ;' the abridgment being made by Mr. Layard himself. The 
most attractive of the original materials are carefully digested, whilst the results of his 
laborious researches are brought down to the very latest dates." — Globe. 

" A charming volume, to which we may safely promise a circulation without limit, 
and as unbounded popularity. The great feature of the abridgment is the introduction 
of the principal biblical and historical illustrations (forming a separate section of the 
original work) into the narrative, which, without sacrificing any matter of importance, 
makes the story more compact, useful, and indeed complete, in its abridgment than it 
was in its original form. In Ins brief preface Mr. Layard remarks that the more 
recent discoveries, and the contents of the inscriptions, as far as they have been 
satisfactorily deciphered, have confirmed nearly all the opinions first expressed by him 
on the subject. There was no necessity, therefore, to introduce a change in any 
material point into the abridgment. He is still disposed to believe that all the ruins 
explored represent the site of Ancient Nineveh ; and, while still assigning the later 
monuments to the kings mentioned in Scripture, he continues to feel convinced that a 
considerable period had elapsed between their foundation and the erection of the older 
palaces of Nimroud. Mr. Layard differs from some other antiquarians, however, in 
thinking that the state of the inscriptions by no means as yet authorises the use of any 
actual names for the earlier kings mentioned in them."' — Examiner. 






MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF NEW WORKS. 19 



AUTHOE OF"PADDIANA." 

% Cransporf Itopge to % Paarifo, 

THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE, AND ST. HELENA. 
Post 8vo. 9s. 6d. 



JAMES FEKGUSSON, ESQ. 



AN ESSAY ON ANCIENT ASSYRIAN AND PERSIAN ARCHITECTURE. 
With Woodcuts. 8vo. 16s. 

This volume is written for the purpose of elucidating the ancient Architecture ot 
Western Asia, especially to render intelligible the remarkable buildings of Nineveh, so 
unexpectedly revealed by recent discoveries ; and by comparing them with those of 
Babylon, Jerusalem, Persepolis, and Modern Persia, to restore, as far as possible, the 
history of an art long lost to the world. 



feags from % "Crates." 

SELECTION FROM THE LITERARY PAPERS WHICH HAVE APPEARED IN 
THE " TIMES " NEWSPAPER. 

REPRINTED FOR THE RAIL BY PERMISSION OP THE PROPRIETORS. 

Second Edition. Fcap. 8vo. 4s. 



Contents : — 



Lord Nelson and Lady Hamilton. 
Railway Novels. 
Louis Philippe and his Family. 
Drama of the French Revolution. 
Howard the Philanthropist. 
Lord Holland's Reminiscences. 



Robert Southey. 

Dean Swift — Stella and Vanessa. 

Coleridge and Southey, by Cottle. 

John Keats. 

Grote's History of Greece. 



" Light without levity, grave without gloom, its contents are precisely such as one 
would select for ' railway reading ; ' well calculated to enlist attention, and to convey 
equal pleasure and profit to the mind of the reader. The subjects are varied, and 
each and all are dealt with transcendent ability. The mere fact of their having been 
permitted to occupy whole columns of the Times speaks volumes as to their recognised 
sterling worth. Their prevailing tone is that of a calm and measured dignity, befitting 
one who, from ' the loop-holes of retreat,' looks out upon the waning world* and gives 
to his fellow man their meed of censure or of praise, according as their characters or 
deeds present themselves, or pass in array before him. We are sure that the writer's 
general sentiments will find a ready response in the heart of every right-thinking and 
right-feeling reader. His powers will be appreciated even by the most cursory." — 
Shrewsbury Journal. 



20 



MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF NEW WORKS. 



LAVENGRO. 



Cjtt j&jjirlar, % dgpgjr, rah % jprfoi. 

By the Author of « The Bible in Spain." 

With Portrait. 3 Vols. Post 8vo. 30s. 



THE LEXINGTON PAPERS. 



Bam %ttamt td % dtkrte d f ratam $ Drama 

LN THE 17th CENTURY. 

BY THE HON. H. MANNERS SUTTON. 

8vo. 14*. 



CAPTAIN J. D. CUNNINGHAM. 

% pstraj 0f % j&fcja, 

FROM THE ORIGIN OF THE NATION TO THE BATTLES OF THE SUTLEJ. 
Second Edition, with a Memoir of the Author. Maps, 8vo. 15s. 



BY AUTHORITY. 



fotmral fif % $kpl iwpgjM Satiety. 



VOL. XXI. PART I. 



CONTENTS : 

Progress of Geography. 

Climatology of the Caucasus. By Professor 

H. Abich. 
Louisiade andNew Guinea. By J.M'Gillivray. 
South African Lake "Ngami." By BeV. D. 

Liyingston. 

MlUDLE I8LAND OF NEW ZEALAND. By CAP!. 

Stokes, R.N. 
Aneroid Barometer. By Col. Yorke. 
Aneroid for Surveying in India. By Dr. Buist. 



South Sea Islands. By Capt. J. E. Ersktne, 

K.N. 
Mission to Central Africa. By Dr. Barth. 
Southern Peru. By W. Bollaert. 

KuMARN AND GURHWAL. By CAPT. R. StRACHEY. 

Railway across North America. By Asa 

Whitney. 
Central America Canal. By A. S. Oersted. 
Vocabulary of the Yule Lndians. By Dr. 

Cullen. 



With Maps. 8vo. 10*. 



ME. MURRAY'S LIST OF NEW WORKS. 21 

^ESOP FOR THE PEOPLE.— BEST AND CHEAPEST EDITION. 

JfaMte d %mp 

A NEW VERSION, CHIEFLY FROM THE ORIGINAL GREEK. 

BY EEY. THOMAS JAMES, M.A., 

Vicar of Sibbertoft, and Examining Chaplain to the Bishop of Bath and Wells. 
With 100 Woodcuts. Post 8vo. 2s. Gd. 
" This pretty and handy volume will be everybody's JEsop." — Examiner. 



NIMROD. 



Cjft <%a— % |kair— mtir \\t Carl 

REPRINTED FROM THE "QUARTERLY REVIEW." 
Woodcuts. 3 Parts. Fcap.Svo. 3s. Gd. 



THE SAXON IN IRELAND, 



JjtomMto si m <%Iisjrawit in % ffl&t&t of Ireland 



IN SEARCH OF A SETTLEMENT. 
Second Edition. With Map. Post 8to. 9s. Gd. 



JOHN EDWARD TAYLOR. 



Uicjradi &njjtfo, €mmkxiis as a ^Jilosopjit Jwt 



WITH TRANSLATIONS. 

Second Edition. Post 8vo. 5s. 



22 MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF NEW WORKS. 



THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 

Biktiana from % IMingta gtspatcjaj. 

BY THE LATE COLONEL GURWOOD, C.B. 

INTENDED AS A CONVENIENT MANUAL FOR EVERY OFFICER. 

New and Cheaper Edition, with Index. One Volume. 8vo. 18s. 

" It would be idle at this time of day to dilate on the treasure our country possesses 
in the Duke of Wellington's Despatches — or the wisdom which sanctioned their 
publication in the lifetime of their illustrious author." — Quarterly Review. 



THE. HON EDMUND PHIPPS. 



max of |loforf IJfomer Mmk 

WITH HIS POLITICAL AND LITERARY CORRESPONDENCE, DIARIES, AND REMAINS. 

With Portrait. 2 vols. Svo. 28*. 

" By far the most valuable portions of Mr. Ward's diary are its illustrations of the 
character of the Duke of Wellington. The great soldier, then in the flush of his 
military triumph, was also in the prime of his power and activity ; and Mr. Ward 
gives us an insight into his business habits, his method of arguing public questions, 
his ready resource and never-tiring energy, which possesses occasionally a striking 
interest." — Examiner. 



KUGLEE'S ILLUSTRATED HANDBOOK. 

®jjt Btlfpak of j) rating m ftalg. 

TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN. 

EDITED WITH NOTES BY SIR CHARLES EASTLAE^, P.R.A. 

A New Edition. With 100 Woodcuts. 2 Vols. Post 8vo. 24s. 



EDWARD VERNON HARCOURT, ESQ. 



% Skit]} of Pakim 



CONTAINING INFORMATION FOR THE TRAVELLER OR INVALID VISITING THE ISLAND 
With Maps and Woodcuts. Post Svo. 8*. Cd. 



MURRAY'S READING FOR THE RAIL. 

OR, CHEAP BOOKS IN LARGE READABLE TYPE, 

SUITED FOR ALL CLASSES OF READERS — FOR VARIOUS TASTES — AND FOR OLD AND 
YOUNG OF BOTH SEXES. 

To appear at short intervals, varying in size and price, 



WorTcs already Published ; — 
ESSAYS FROM " THE TIMES ; " being a Selection from the 

Literary Papers "which hare appeared in that Journal. Fcap. 8vo. 4s. 

NIMROD ON THE CHACE. An Essay, reprinted from the " Quar- 

terly Review ; " and illustrated -with "Woodcuts by Alken. Fcap. 8vo. 1*. 

LORD MAHON'S FORTY-FIVE ; or a Narrative of the Rebellion in 

Scotland in 1745. Post Svo. 3s. 

LAYARD'S OWN NARRATIVE OF HIS DISCOVERIES AT 

NINEVEH. Arranged by himself for popular circulation, with Woodcuts. Post Svo. 5s. 

NIMROD ON THE ROAD. An Essay, reprinted from the " Quar- 
terly Review ; " and illustrated with Woodcuts by Alken. Fcap. 8vo. Is. 

JESOP'S FABLES. A New Version. By Rev. THOMAS JAMES. 

Illustrated with 100 Original Designs. Post Svo. 2s. 6c?. 

NIMROD ON THE TURF. An Essay, reprinted from the " Quar- 

terly Review; " and illustrated with Woodcuts by Alken. Fcap. 8vo. Is. 6d. 

To le followed by : — 
MUSIC AND DRESS. Two Essays. By a LADY. Fcap. 8vo. 

DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING; or, Anecdotes of the British Navy. 

Fcap. 8vo. 

BEES AND FLOWERS. Two Essays, reprinted from the " Quarterly 

Review." Fcap. 8vo. 

POLITICAL EXPERIENCE FROM THE WISDOM OF THE 

ANCIENTS. With Notes. By SEYMOUR THEMENHEERE. Fcap. 8vo. 



MURRAY'S READING FOR THE RAIL 

will contain works of sound information and innocent amusement, suited not only for 
railway trayelleks, but adapted for the shelves of every library. 

[See next page. 



24 MURRAY'S READING FOR THE RAIL. 



OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 

■¥ 

" A series of cheap and healthy publications, to supplant the deleterious mixtures sold 
too frequently from the want of more wholesome food.'' — Athenamm. 

" Mr. Murray starts with one great advantage. Cheap novels, compressing some five 
volumes of French nonsense into one small duodecimo, must necessarily be in small 
print and on bad paper. This bothers most eyes and wears many out. The same 
objection applies to many even of the really useful books sold at railway stations. 
Mr. Murray, whose subjects do not require the same compression, gives a good readable 
type, quite large enough for ordinary eyes, even in express trains. For railway reading 
this is really the chief consideration of all."— Atlas. 

" Mr. Murray has deserved well at the hands of the travelling community, as well as 
at those of the public at large." — Observer. 

" Encouraged by the brilliant success attendant upon many recent adventures in the 
way of supplying the masses with cheap and standard literature, Mr. Murray has 
commenced the issue of a new series, destined, we are satisfied, to occupy a very 
distinguished position among this remarkable class of periodicals." — Sun. 

" We heartily wish this new undertaking the success which the enterprising publisher 
merits, and commend these productions to the railway and reading public." — Morning 
Herald. 

" We hail Murray's ' Reading for the Rail,' with much pleasure, as one of the many 
efforts now making to supply the public with books at once cheap and good. This is 
the only legitimate means by which literature that is cheap and worthless, or positively 
mischievous, can be fairly and efficiently put down. ,, — Economist. 

" We recognise, both in its contents, and in the spirit in which, as the first of a 
contemplated series of ' Readings for the Rail,' it has been launched by Mr. Murray, 
the highminded and rightminded effort of a healthful spirit to leave its impress on the 
age in which we live. And we tender to the publisher our cordial and earnest thanks 
for so valuable an addition to our current readings, — we ought to have said for so 
wholesome a substitute for the poisonous trash which obtrudes itself at nearly every 
railway station of the metropolis upon the notice of the young and the unthinking.'" 
— Bath Herald. 

" It is to supply a class of books suited to modern travel, that Mr. Murray comes 
forward as the " schoolmaster " of the Rail. He desires to put into the hands of 
travellers, works that shall mingle ' pleasure with instruction,' or ' information,' if the 
reader prefers the phrase." — Shrewsbury Journal. 

" An able article on ' Literature for the Rail,' was lately inserted in the ' Times,' and 
natui-ally attracted general observation. The writer recommended as an effectual 
means for expelling from the book-stalls of the stations trashy and licentious publica- i 
tions, the issue of works of acknowledged merit at a low price ; and the argumentum 
ad hominem was applied to Mr. Murray, by way of inducing that publisher to do for the 
rail what he had done for other classes of readers by issue of his popular ' Home and 
Colonial Library.' This publication is the response to this appeal." — Worcester Journal. 

BRADBUBT AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WHlTKFRlARa. 



Deackjified using the Bookkeeper prooas 
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